I personally consider amphetamines as PED's, and I guarantee more players used greenies in the 60's (including Rose) than steroids in the 00's.
Pete Rose's ACCOMPLISHMENTS are in the Hall. That's how it should be. He doesn't deserve a plaque in Cooperstown.
Yep, you might as well burn down the HOF. Pot of coffee labeled "leaded" next to pot of coffee labeled "unleaded" in every clubhouse for the past 100 years. Same as the NFL, NBA, tennis, name the sport....
He's a sleezeball, no doubt. Hell, the Barroid is the biggest scumbag of them all and even he'll get in someday. I view Rose's situation to be much more forgiveable than I do a situation like that where the subject continues to live in a denial. As for Rose's baseball accomplishments: I don't share your opinion that he was overrated. Granted, he was a little before my time but from everything that i've seen and heard -- he was the real deal. Longevity is the only thing he and Nolan Ryan seem to share in common. Rose was a 3x champion, World Series MVP, NL MVP, etc. Ryan wasn't on that type of level.
I didn't watch baseball back then, but looking at his stats, they aren't terribly impressive. His 162-game averages are: 0.303 BA 0.375 OBP 0.409 SLG 0.784 OPS 7 HRs 60 RBIs 94 Runs 9 Steals / 7 Caught-Stealings He wasn't particularly fast, and didn't hit for much power (his highs were 16 HRs and 20 steals, and despite playing 24 seasons, he totalled only 160 HRs and just under 200 steals). He just played for a long, long, long time. On the flipside, I don't know the era he played in. He consistently seemed to be in the MVP voting, even when his stats were fairly pedestrian. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/rosepe01.shtml?redir
I beg to differ... Pete Rose was one of the better players to ever play the game and the very definition of a player that gave 110% every game. The guy played as hard as he could and hit over .300 15 out of his first 19 seasons, led the league in hits 7 seasons, etc... Say what you will about his character or whether or not his gambling on baseball should keep him out of the hall, but he was a helluva player and underrated in my opinion. I think he should be let in the hall but should not be allowed to coach or manage a mlb team
I understand what you're saying but there are different breeds of baseball players. Rose was a great top of the order guy that simply knew how to get on base. Generally, those aren't the type of guys hitting 100 RBI's and making SportsCenter but they're equally as important. You don't necessarily see Derek Jeter's numbers and shake in your boots neither. Still, we both know they're GREAT at doing what they do and that you don't want to see them in the postseason. In addition to Rose's three championships and World Series MVP award, he's also a .321 hitter in the postseason. That's pretty impressive.
From 1965-1979, Rose had a 130 OPS+, made 13 all-star teams, and won an MVP and a couple of gold gloves. He also was on two World Series winning teams and four pennant winners. A lot of his stats actually took a hit because he played so long, though obviously he wouldn't have gotten the all-time hits records without hanging around. Based on numbers alone, he should absolutely be in Cooperstown. That's why I personally think that it's appropriate that his accomplishments are celebrated in the Hall. But the man himself? Let him live with his punishment.
