Pete Rose has recently expressed his desire to reenter the Major League baseball scene-possibly as a manager. This inkling is not new to the man who has been shunned by the game for years since he gambled on games. The former player and manager should be forgiven and allowed to return. Commissioner Bud Selig has been spending his time trying to increase the number of playoff games so he can ensure that the Yankees and Red Sox continue to make the postseason. He has been really hypocritical in his response to the various infractions that arise in baseball.
Over the last twenty years baseball has been inundated with performance enhancing drugs. Roger Clemens faces the possibility of legal issues because he continuously allegedly lied under oath regarding his usage. The same thing recently occurred with Barry Bonds. Fans have seen that players who admitted using moved on without much incident. Jason Giambi is still on the roster of the Colorado Rockies after years of abusing steroids. The moral of the story is that it is better to admit foul play and then hope for mercy from the powers that be. Hubris gets in the way of this for former players like Bonds and Clemens.
They don’t want the association taint their storied careers. If Giambi is still in uniform, then Rose deserves another chance. I understand that the commissioner thinks that the game turns into WWE wrestling if the outcome is considered to be tainted. There does have to be the thought of the punishment fitting the crime.
Steve Howe was an effective pitcher for the New York Yankees, but he had an obvious drug problem. The league suspended him at least a handful of times for these transgressions. Like a substantial portion of the country, I think law enforcement should emphasize treatment more than punitive measures for drug use. Be that as it may, Howe was provided numerous “second chances” to turn his life around and continue to pitch in the major leagues. Pete Rose has not been afforded the same luxury.
There probably is not a lot of teams that are clamoring to hire Rose as manager because he has been out of the game so long and is seventy years old. He has primarily been making his living signing autographs nowadays. This cannot be satisfying the competitive fire for the hit king. Punishments get progressively worse depending on a person’s prior record.
On a second or third DUI offense, a driver’s punishment is going to be much harsher than for the first. Pete Rose didn’t repeatedly get busted for betting on baseball. It happened once and he was banned. It should also matter that he is the all-time leading hitter. It is more of a reminder of the game’s faults that he is not in the Hall of Fame than if he was. His entrance should be allowed because of his performance. It’s not called the hall for good people. I understand being popular with colleagues and writers is important, but it shouldn’t be a necessity to gain acceptance.
–Patrick Herbert