This evening, Don was reading the paper and I was doing my usual busywork on the computer when all of a sudden he said, “Go to the Philadelphia Phillies website!”
Without asking why, I hurried to the Phillies’ website and then I could see what the excitement was all about. Don is a huge Pete Rose fan, and read an article in our local paper, The Vindicator, that Rose is up for election for the Philadelphia Phillies’ Wall of Fame.
The career hits leader, with 4,256 hits has been banned from baseball since 1989 for betting on the sport. Rose admittedly bet on baseball, including his own team, and agreed to a permanent ineligibility from baseball. He is not allowed to manage or be any part of the game, including being inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Rose is a 17 time All-Star, has won three World Series Championships, and is a three time batting champion. He was the NL MVP in 1993. Rose’s Number 14 is retired by the Cincinnati Reds and he was inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame. He is also on the Baseball All Century Team, which was voted on by over two million fans.
Despite Pete Rose betting on baseball, we believe he deserves to be in the Baseball Hall of Fame. If the players were chosen based on character outside of the game, many other players would not be eligible either. Almost 30 years of being banned from the game that he loves should be enough. While we feel that what he did was wrong, he has paid the price and should be eligible now to be voted into the Hall of Fame.
Rose did not use steroids to enhance his performance. He earned the name Charlie Hustle by giving 100% of himself to every aspect of the game. Heck, he ran over a catcher – Ray Fosse – in the 1970 All-Star game. He would get a walk and sprint to First Base. He was everything you would want in a Hall of Famer, except for the gambling issue.
Voting is open until March 15th on the Phillies’ website (http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com). Please vote today for your favorite player – or ours! Vote for Pete Rose!