Should Pete Rose Be Eligible For The MLB Hall Of Fame?

Sports are awesome! It may be the only topic where two friends could have a screaming match about their differing opinions and then the next second they are laughing and talking about something else. That is because there is no real consequence about being right or wrong about sports... unless you are adamantly telling someone who to bet on. But then that crosses from sports to money... and arguments over that are never good. So in the grand scheme of things, whether Pete Rose is eligible for the MLB Hall of Fame or not is completely inconsequential... and incredibly fun to argue about! For those of you unaware, Pete Rose was kicked out of Major League Baseball for breaking the most sacred rule in professional sports: betting on a game in which you are involved. This week, he was posthumously reinstated.

I don't really even like baseball any more. The combination of being a White Sox fan (the worst franchise in professional sports) and the game being destroyed by instant replay, all or nothing swinging, and artificial rules to speed up the game. But those are arguments for a different day. Right now I'd like to flex my credentials (which are none) to adjudicate the case against Pete Rose. Actually, that is a lie. I'm really only going to look at one argument justifying his reinstatement.

First we need to get on the same page. If you are a person who says, "Pete Rose is going into the Hall of Fame as the all time hits leader and baseball player, who cares what he did as a manager?" Then the argument isn't any fun. That's pretty black and white and is just based on preference. I can argue that you should hold him accountable for his actions as a manager, but ultimately, you can just say "I don't wanna". Cool.

So this is for the person who says, "Yeah he bet on games he was managing, but he only bet on his team, the Reds, to win. That is a victimless crime. Of course he wanted to bet on his team to win. Who cares? he's just getting a little extra bonus for his team winning."

I might actually consider that argument if Rose had bet on his team to win EVERY SINGLE GAME. But he didn't. He only bet on his team to win sometimes. That means every game he did not bet on, he thought he was going to lose. Would that impact his managing? Humans like to prove themselves right. Did he ever manage in a way that would confirm his bias rather than do everything in his power to help the team win? Maybe or maybe not.

But here's the much bigger factor. How did his bets impact his managing? Let's say he bet on his team to win the first game of a 3 game weekend series. During that Friday night game, were his managerial decisions influenced by doing what is best for the team or himself? Did he use a pitcher who needed rest because he desperately wanted to win his bet? Did he use a pitcher he was planning to use in the next game to win his bet? Did he pinch hit a player who was supposed to be resting? In other words, did he make decisions in the game he bet on that impacted the next game or games? Unless you can say with absolute certainty that never happened, then you simply cannot reinstate Pete Rose. The anti-gambling rule is sacred for a reason. There is honestly nothing more damaging to a sport than creating doubt as to whether or not it is on the up and up. (If you want proof just look at the reaction to this year's draft lottery... and that isn't even a game).

With the amount of money players make, fines and suspensions will not deter players from gambling on their sport. The only real protection the league has is a player's desire to preserve their legacy. If they don't have to worry about that, then you are begging for a gambling scandal.

Pete Rose was an incredible player. He was so exciting to watch and did it for an incredibly long time. His records and statistics are unblemished, but sadly, the only way to truly prevent this from happening again is to ensure his legacy is tarnished by his choice to break the one unbreakable rule in sports.

What do you think? Should Pete Rose be reinstated?