Astros related because I saw him play in the Astrodome when I was a kid. Neighbors were Reds fans and took me every year. He should be in the Hall of Fame. A-Hole? Yeah. But God damn he was a great ball player.
I have always assumed the unspoken rule was if you cheat you don’t get in…while you’re alive. I expect Rose, Bonds, and Clemens to get in after they’re all dead.
He's also responsible for one of the biggest as**ole plays in MLB history, in an All Star Game no less, that effectively ended Ray Fosse's career Very good player, overrated player, and a massive piece of s!!t human being
One of the best ever. I appreciate him as a player. But what he did was worse than what the roiders did. He just doesn't deserve to be in the HOF because of what he did. Yeah, gambling is part of the game...but there's a line and he demolished it.
Shoeless Joe Jackson still isn't in the hall. Rose is never getting in. Knowing his recent reputation, I doubt Sports Reference even gives him an "In Memoriam" blurb tomorrow like they did with Mutumbo today.
My dad and I rarely saw one another over the years. When we did, we could always talk about baseball. We would always end the conversation with me asking him who his favorite baseball player was and his answer would always be exactly the same… “still Rose”. Pete was a massive A-hole, but he played the game the right way. He played hard and played to win. Yes, he belongs on the HOF. If A-holes, cheaters, druggies etc were not allowed in the hall, there would be few people in it.
Man, I would have never bet he would die this year, it was odd. It was a gamble I wasn't willing to take. When people asked me, I just kept a poker face.
He wasn’t overrated. And maybe you should let go of the hate. He was a degenerate gambler. He’s dead now.
You're right, he was great until he was 38ish. He was also a POS. Both things can be true. One of my favorite Spring Training Rose stories is "he won't even shake your hand for less than $20"
Between the lines he was one of the best. Remember, most of his career it was a pitcher’s league. He played the game right. I saw him bat against Nolan in the dome.
