I have my disagreements with MLB, especially with the PED issue but this is the right thing.
Just by betting on his team, he put into question the integrity of the games that were played. Unless he bet that his team would win all 162 games, he gave the impression that the games he didn’t bet on, they were not going to win. If he bet on his team to win, he gave the idea that there was going to be some sort of extra effort because he had money on it.
You can’t give the appearance that you are throwing games or shaving runs by not doing everything to score as much as possible in games you did not bet on. Why didn’t he bet on every game, what did his bookie do with the info when Pete wouldn’t call in to place $500 on his team?
The extent of what he did will probably never be known, but he deserves the punishment as set out in the rules.
Now I hope there can be some sort of agreement reached where his name is enshrined in the HOF because he was one of the best of his generation and a lot of fun to watch.
If Shoeless Joe isn’t in, then neither should Pete be in.