Is It Finally Time to Forgive Pete Rose?
If you’re a baseball fan, you will probably agree that it is time to forgive Pete Rose and put him in the Hall of Fame where he belongs. It’s been 26 years since his wrongdoings, yet he still has remained to get the spot of honor he deserves. He is not the same man that he was all those years ago. People have a way of changing when they get older. With age comes maturity. So why is Rose still being banned when even Cincinnati has publically forgiven him? After all, Pete Rose is hardly the only person to ever bet on baseball.
Cincinnati has said that he’s one of the greatest players and no matter what he did he was their “bad boy.” They have embraced him with open arms. Now the sins he committed weren’t small by any scale and I’m sure you would agree that he needed to be punished. However, did he really deserve a ban from everything? Thankfully, the new commissioner Rob Manfred did lift that ruling somewhat and allows him to participate in baseball events. He is even allowed to work for Fox Sports as an analyst.
You know that Manfred is probably getting some heat on this matter. So Rose did some bribes as a manager and made some errors, what happened to forgiveness? Manfred admitted that he is getting letters from fans all over the country who are upset that this ban is somewhat still in place. Do you think Rose deserves the ban to be lifted? It appears that he will have to make an official decision on the matter. He was recently in Cincinnati and said that the plethora of mail he is getting warrants a look into the bans.
Still the powers that be are on their high-horse and likely not to budge. Rose doesn’t think he will get them to change their minds either. If you live in or around the Cincinnati area, you probably think that Rose is a God to baseball. It seems that the majority of people putting pressure on Manfred are from this area. Let us not forget that Rose got 4,256 hit while he played in the major leagues. That was impressive and mind-boggling. For that alone you would probably say that he deserved a spot in the Hall of Fame.
Rose has paid the price and its time he gets the recognition that he deserves. Rose is definite a loved man. I mean let’s be honest, how many other people are and were making bets behind the scenes and didn’t get caught? Betting on sports is almost as much a part of sports as the games themselves. Rose just got caught and due to his position the fallout was grievous. Sure Rule 21 (d) is clear about the betting regulations, but what it doesn’t say is how long the ban has to be enforced.
