Bud Selig Calls Meeting of All 58 HOF Members-Rose May Have Bet Against Own Team

ESPN/ ABC News Exlcusive ^ | December 21, 2002 | Jim Grey

[ewing]

ESPN just had an exclusive interview with Former Commissioner Fay Vincent and Lead Investigator Matthew Dowd that revealed additional details (above and beyond the linked article) about the lifetime suspension of all time leading hit king Pete Rose from the game of baseball.

The segment said that there was evidence that player/ coach Rose bet against his team when the Cincinnati Reds were playing the San Diego Padres.

The Commissioners office said they didn't have the necessary funds to pursue a proper rundown of that angle of the investigation, and agreed to a lifetime ban from the sport with the world famous batsman provided there was no admission of gambling on the part of Rose.

[ewing]

Shades of MIke Jordan and his gambling escapades..

[ewing]

Meeting is set for January 17 in Los Angeles

[Dog Gone]

Pete Rose is a permanent stain on baseball, which is a dying sport anyhow.

[Clara Lou]

It's only sports, thank goodness, and the kids who were susceptible to Rose's hero status saw him banned from the Hall of Fame for his dishonorable behavior. To put him in now is a gesture, an afterthought. Meaningless. Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame is an insult to those who played the game honorably. (Nolan Ryan springs to mind.)

Let the flames begin....

[ewing]

I know it is illogical, but I still cant bring myself to believe that Rose bet against his own ballclub.

Betting on his team to win still will get him suspended for life from baseball, but betting against his team is the stuff of federal investigations..

[cynicom]

Dog...

I would characterize it as being dead. I gave up baseball when they started paying players millions to take three swings and sit down. Taking a family to the park became prohibitive so I stopped. Have not been in many years and no longer follow the sport.

[ewing]

Charlie Hustle or now 'Hustler,' was one of the most competitive guys on earth when he was playing.. and now the Lead Investigaor says there is evidence that he bet against his own team.

This really is a testimony to the destructive power of gambling.

[uncbob]

Rose and Clinton are two of a kind
Both refuse to admit what they did and still lie about it

[Petronski]

I think Pete Rose's name should be permitted on the HoF ballot, but only in the first year after his death. His stats have earned his place there, but his scurrilous gambling habit should deprive him of the personal glory the HoF induction would provide.

[FourPeas]

I can't imagine why Pete Rose would want to repeatedly parade his shameful behaviors in public. Yes, the HOF may be important to him, but obviously not so important to keep him from betting. He is a truly sad character.

[ewing]

I;m not even sure an admittance of gambling is enough to get him in the hall now.

My prediction is that Rose is put on the voting ballot to the sportswriters by the comissioner, denied 5 times on the character clause-then admitted into the hall by the veterans committee.

A good Metro sportswriter will never miss a chance to cause some controversy..

[ewing]

Interesting take.

[Sabertooth]

I think Pete Rose's name should be permitted on the HoF ballot, but only in the first year after his death. His stats have earned his place there, but his scurrilous gambling habit should deprive him of the personal glory the HoF induction would provide.

The problem, here, is that the banning is not just a punishment for Pete Rose, but also a deterrant to every other player who comes after.

Keeping Pete Rose out Baseball and out of the Hall of Fame has been the most honorable thing that has occurred in Baseball in decades. It's the one standard that hasn't been eroded.

[Sabertooth]

((((((growl)))))

[GreatOne]

Absolutely no way Pete Rose should ever be allowed back into baseball, nor the Hall of Fame. He bet on baseball, which is explicitly banned, and for which the consequences (banishment and ineligibility for the HOF) are plainly written. We have rules, and he broke them, and must pay the ultimate price. Adultery, racism, wife beating, and just be a jerk, are not something that rules bans a player for, so this "everyone did something bad" crap is just b.s.

People forget that gambling almost destroyed baseball with the Black Sox scandal. That's why the penalty is so harsh.

If after 80 years, Shoeless Joe Jackson isn't in, then Rose should stay out as well (and that's not a plea to let Jackson in). Too bad, so sad.

[SMEDLEYBUTLER]

"The banishment for life of Pete Rose from baseball is the sad end of a sorry episode. One of the game's greatest players has engaged in a variety of acts which have stained the game, and he must now live with the consequences of those acts. By choosing not to come to a hearing before me, and by choosing not to proffer any testimony or evidence contrary to the evidence and information contained in the report of the Special Counsel to the Commissioner, Mr. Rose has accepted baseball's ultimate sanction, lifetime ineligibility."

Statement by then Commissioner of Baseball
A. Bartlett Giamatti
August 24, 1989

The Dowd Report

[TheOtherOne]

Did Jordan ever bet on basketball? I have never heard that accusation before - or are you comparing his casino gambling with betting on the sport you are playing?

[Loyalist]

Jordan's two-year retirement during his foray into minor-league baseball was a thinly disguised suspension.

David Stern had the goods on Jordan, enough to ban him for life. But banning the NBA's greatest asset could have brought down the league.

There really is a double standard for the top stars in any sport. Had Pete Rose been a marginal Hall of Fame candidate, this discussion wouldn't be happening at all.

[MeekOneGOP]