Rose's Character Alone May Kill Hall of Fame Hopes

Pete Rose was an outstanding baseball player who will be forever emblazoned in the memories of Philies’ fans for his game saving catch during the 1980 World Series. But, does he deserve to be enshrined among baseball’s elite in the Hall of Fame?

There are many pundits and fans alike who would claim that Rose’s baseball accomplishments stand for themselves and that he deserves induction into the Hall Of Fame just on the merits of his play and that nothing else should matter. And there is a whole other faction that believes that Rose’s lifetime ban from baseball is exactly that, and that no confession in the world can change that.

I used to believe that Pete Rose deserved his spot among the game’s greats by virtue of his on field accomplishments but after these new revelations, I believe that Pete Rose should be on the ballot for baseball’s Hall of Shame instead of the Hall of Fame. The fact that he is the game’s all –time hits leader is miniscule when compared to the fact that he broke the game’s most sacred unwritten rule and that he tried to cover it up for over a decade. When you consider that he chose to make this announcement just in time to overshadow this year’s crop of HOF inductees, it smells worse than week old tuna fish. Even his long time supporter Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt admitted in interviews with other media outlets that Rose’s timing couldn’t have been worse.

I believe that we may never know for sure whether Pete Rose actually bet on baseball. He is clearly only admitting to the crime now because he sees it as the only way he can gain his place in the HOF and he is willing to anything to get it, even admit to something he might not have done. Why would he suddenly admit to doing something he has spent the better part of two decades trying to deny? Because it unlocks the door to baseball immortality.

Pete Rose, in my opinion, is a self-serving pompous waste of talent who will do anything to further his own selfish aims. I believe that his prime time interview epitomized this side of his personality. He showed no contrition whatsoever and offered the admission only because he thought it would clear the way for his reinstatement into baseball and likely induction into the Hall Of Fame.

But would it be that easy? There is a character provision in the HOF ballot instructions that could scuttle Rose’s hopes of induction. Would the voters take seriously their duty to account for Rose’s character on their ballots or would they simply vote him in on the merits of his career statistics? I believe that many writers would simply vote Rose in because they feel that it’s what the fans want to see even though they might have valid reservations about his conduct. These writers would be doing the HOF and baseball a disservice but we’ll just have to wait and see if this admission is enough to get Rose of the hook for a career full of missteps or if it is just another in a long line of self-serving acts.