When hearing the name Pete Rose, two things come to mind: one of the most incredible baseball players to play the game and also being regarded as a controversial figure in sports to this day. Pete Rose, referred to as “Charlie Hustle” by sport fanatics from all over is arguably one of the most hard working, dedicated and intense players to hit the field. Early on in his playing career, Pete Rose was building a worthy case of being inducted into the Hall of Fame. He has earned many accomplishments and MLB records which include being named a 17x All Star, a 3x World Series Champion, having his Cincinnati Reds #14 jersey retired, being recently named to the MLB All Century Team, being inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame, as well as setting an absurd 19 MLB records. For these numerous accomplishments, Pete Rose being inducted into the Hall would be a guarantee. However, this “guarantee” soon became less of a sure thing due to his gambling addiction. Gambling is something that occurs every day in society and often goes unnoticed. However, for Pete Rose, given his celebrity presence, this was not the case. On January 8th, 2004, Pete Rose admitted to gambling on baseball games and other sports while playing for and managing the Reds. This gambling act was in violation of MLB rules because he bet on a game he was involved in, which could have an impact on the outcome of the game. It does not matter if you bet on your team to win or lose, betting is still in violation of Rule 21D. To this day, these questionable gambling activities have prevented Pete Rose from being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Recently, Pete Rose has appealed Major League Baseball’s life time ban in order to become eligible for induction. Pete Rose can definitely be considered as controversial in having the qualities of a Baseball Hall of Fame Inductee, as a result of questionable gambling acts. In visiting the Baseball Hall of Fame myself, it was interesting to see an entire section dedicated to Pete Rose, just like the actual Hall of Fame Inductees. The only thing his section lacks is a plaque and recognition from the MLB, which leads to the controversial question “Does Pete Rose deserve to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame?”
MooseTracks 