In Monday’s USA Today, an ardent Pete Rose fan named Dana Buttrick tried to make a case for baseball opening its doors to his hero. His comments screamed out for a rebuttal. So rebut I will.
“Everybody loves Pete Rose,’’ Buttrick said.
Everybody who loves a man who continues to lie about the extent of his gambling on baseball loves Pete Rose.
“Pete is the Reds.’’
If Pete is the Reds 29 years after his playing career ended, then the Reds are in a heap of trouble.
“Pete is baseball.’’
Baseball is a lot of things, but Pete isn’t one of them.
“Pete is America.’’
Pete is America if you believe we are a country of grifters, snake-oil salesmen and rip-off artists. And, come to think of it, I wouldn’t argue with you.
Mid-July is the time of year when the stories about Rose roll out in earnest, thanks to the All-Star Game and the national spotlight on the sport. Because Tuesday’s game is in Cincinnati, where Rose was a superstar, baseball’s all-time hits leader is getting even more attention. Thus, the USA Today story, which also ran in the Sun-Times.
Lots of people, including Rose, ask whether he has suffered enough, thanks to his 26-year banishment from baseball. The answer should be a resounding “no.’’
Recent revelations make it almost a certainty that Rose will never see the Baseball Hall of Fame as a member. ESPN obtained documents it says show he gambled on major-league games – including Reds games — as a player. Rose needed almost 20 years to admit that he gambled on baseball when he managed the Reds. How long before he fesses up about his gambling activities as a player? Another 20?
The worst sin in baseball is gambling. MLB takes the issue so seriously that, inside every big-league clubhouse, it prominently displays its rules against wagering. Rose knew those rules when he gambled, and he knows them now.
“It’s time to get him reinstated into baseball and get him to the Hall of Fame,” Buttrick, the fan, said.
No, it’s not. Baseball doesn’t love Pete Rose anymore, nor should it.
