[PARAM]

When will he go away?

I loved his hustle and style of play but at the same time, I hated the player. I loved when he blasted Ray Fosse in the all star game and I hated the fact he did it. For me this guy is s guy fans either hate or love. I don't like the fact he gambled on baseball and yet nobody has proved he bet against his team. But if Joe Jackson can be suspended for life and kept out of the HOF, then Pete Rose should just STFU. He knew it was against the rules when he did it.

But now we have this latest problem....sex with a minor; statutory rape (albeit many years ago). Before I recently visited Cooperstown and the HOF, a Phillie fan I know told me he'll never go until they put Pete into the hall. Well now that poor guy will never see Cooperstown's centerpiece. Philly fans love the guy.....that happens when he is a big part of your first World Series win in 72 years. But as a person, he seems like a huge asshole. I wonder how they feel about him now. The Phillies cancelled his bobble head give-away and his induction into their ring of honor, as a result of the enlightenment of those old charges. It sounds, to me, like somebody has it in for Mr. Rose. And if this doesn't put the final stamp on his Fahgetaboutit as far as the HOF goes, I don't know what will.

Hey, if you're a Pete Rose fan, I agree, he was a phenominal player. Maybe you can acknowledge he was a flaming asshole too.

[BobCarl]

if Joe Jackson can be suspended for life and kept out of the HOF,

Here's the problem that I have. Baseball and Baseball writer's Hall 0f Fame designation are two mutually exclusive entities.

If Baseball banns Joe Jackson from ever stepping foot on the field or dugout then I respect that. ... But for writers to declare Jackson to be a sub-gifted athlete because of his off-the-field conduct, then they are throwing stones .. as if the writers themselves have never sinned.

When I grew up Baseball was America's game ... and it was. In 1975 when Rose was with the "Big Red Machine" it still was America's game.

Rose's gambling, drug use, and womanizing tainted his off-the-field name. On the field, his 4,256 hits still equals 4,256 and not a single less.

But when the writers turned against what Rose accomplished on the field, the writers distanced the game of baseball from the fans.

The day that the writers turned their backs on Rose's accomplishments was the day that Baseball was dropped by america as their favorite sport. The NFL became America's game.

Even the true fans of baseball that hated Rose, know that Pete's accomplishments earned him a place in Cooperstown.

The last I heard, O.J. Simpson still gets credit for winning a Heisman and NFL Rushing records. Mike Tyson still gets credit for having owned a world Title. Richard Nixon is still credited with having been President. Michael Jackson still gets credit for the incredible music he produced. Bernie M had a public record of drunkenness yet still got to keep his seat on the NFL Hall of Fame voters. Ray Lewis is still in the Hall of Fame. But Pete Rose ... according to baseball writers no longer has 4,256 hits.

Off the field Pete Rose is a thug, but deserves his place on the hall of fame as much as the above mentioned thugs do.

[PARAM]

But Bob, it's the Hall of Fame, not the Hall of Infamy.

O.J. Simpson murdered two people long after he was a Heisman Trophy winner and HOFer
Ray Lewis was never convicted of anything.
And though a sport, football is different from baseball. You sort of expect "crazy" from guys constantly banging their heads into one another. Of course those two might be more than just "crazy" but violence is a huge part of the game.

I'll go this far. If they let McGwire, Clemens and Bonds into the HOF, I'll get behind putting Rose in. No, I'll want Rose in. For the sake of all hard working, honest athletes and all the Moonlight Grahams, I hope that day never comes.