Rose belongs in the Hall, not baseball

Just when you thought Pete Rose's plea for a return to baseball might be accepted by Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig, the dear Mr. Rose (a.k.a. Charlie Hustle) found a way to foil his opportunity. Rose was reportedly seen last week at some Las Vegas casinos, and now Selig and other baseball heads are questioning whether or not Rose would still be susceptible to betting on baseball again.\nAfter a detailed investigation by baseball investigator John Dowd declared Rose had placed 412 bets on baseball (52 being on his own Cincinnati Reds to win) between April and July of 1987, Rose agreed to a lifetime banishment from the game on Aug. 29, 1989. Rose, who has never admitted to betting on baseball, has been out of the game ever since. But Rose often conspicuously rears his face at baseball's largest events like the World Series, All-Star games and particularly in Cooperstown, N.Y., during MLB's Hall of Fame weekend to sign autographs (for money of course) and make personal appearances.\nRose's biggest problem might not even be getting back into baseball as the Los Angeles County Recorder's Office claims Rose owes $151,689 in federal taxes from 1998. It is not the first time Rose has been in trouble with the law as he was sentenced to five months in prison, three months in a halfway house and 1,000 community service hours in 1990 after admitting to hiding income of $354,968 from 1984-1987.\nI will admit that I grew up despising the Cincinnati Reds and Rose, who managed the Reds from 1985-1988. When Rose was banned from the game in 1989, I believed the ban was completely justified based on the findings of Rose betting on baseball and specifically on the Reds while he was their manager. \nWhile Charlie Hustle is without question one of the greatest hitters of all-time, his banishment from baseball has kept him out of the MLB Hall of Fame. Selig has been under recent pressure to re-instate Rose to gain fan support for the game since it has suffered setbacks with low attendance, contraction mishaps and a befuddled All-Star game last year which ended in a tie.\nRose and Selig met on Nov. 25 to discuss Rose's re-instatement. Selig seemed poised to re-instate Rose and had a meeting planned with the 58 living members of the MLB Hall of Fame to discuss Rose's future with the game. With the recent developments, Selig has postponed the meeting. One of Selig's stipulations for re-instatement was believed to be a confession of Rose that he did bet on baseball, which seems to contradict itself to me -- as long as you admit you bet we will let you back in.\nRose should not be fully re-instated to baseball; however, he should be put into the MLB Hall of Fame. What Rose did in betting on the game diminished his integrity and that of baseball. For that, he does not deserve another opportunity to partake in the game he loves.\nFor a long time I was even against putting Rose in the Hall, but in recent years even I have come to appreciate all Rose did as a player on the field. Charlie Hustle is the MLB's all-time leader in hits, games played, at bats, singles, total bases for a switch hitter and seasons with 200 or more hits. He also is the only player to ever play over 500 games at five different positions in his National League record 24-year career.\nEven the Hall of Fame's mission statement declares it, "Honors, by enshrinement, those individuals who had exceptional careers, and recognizes others for their significant achievements." If Rose's 4,256 career hits are not enough to get him in the Hall, I do not know what is.\nHowever, I'm in favor of former MLB commissioner Fay Vincent's notion that Rose's plaque should explicitly mention his banishment for gambling because you never know if Charlie's hustlin' around the bases or to his nearest bookie.