Baseball Hall of Fame

I recently watched an episode of Costas NOW on HBO in which Bob Costas, Dave Winfield, Jim Palmer, and Pete Rose discussed issues related to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

For anyone who doesn't know, Pete Rose was banned for life from baseball by Commissioner Bart Giamatti in 1989. The league spent considerable time and effort investigating allegations that Rose had bet on baseball, including allegations that he had bet on his own team, the Cincinnatti Reds. Although the allegations of Rose's gambling turned out to be true, it's worth noting that no evidence was presented indicating that Pete Rose bet against the Reds.

One of the key points of the discussion on Costas NOW was that athletes who are suspected of using performance-enhancing drugs have a better chance of making it into the Hall than Pete Rose, whose Major League career rankings I found at Baseball-Reference.com:

#1 in Hits w/ 4256
#1 in Singles w/ 3215
#1 in Games Played w/ 3562
#1 in At-Bats w/ 14053
#1 in Plate Appearance w/ 15681
#1 in Times on Base w/ 5929
#2 in Doubles w/ 746 (#1 Tris Speaker)

Still, this list doesn't even take into account his contribution to baseball as one of the most versatile players in the game, both at the plate and in the field. He played for twenty-four seasons, was a switch-hitter, earned two Gold Gloves, was selected for seventeen All-Star games, played numerous positions in the infield and the outfield, and served as a team manager. Even his nickname, "Charlie Hustle," is a testament to his work ethic and determination as a fierce competitor with a never-say-die attitude. It's also worth mentioning that, although he broke the rules of baseball, Pete Rose's gambling never had a significant impact on the way he played or coached the game. For all of these reasons, I am suggesting the following two courses of action:

Firstly, the current commissioner, Bud Selig, should allow Pete Rose to be reinstated into the game of baseball. This should be done with no pomp and circumstance but with a simple press conference, similar to the one in which the ban was announced back in 1989. As a condition of the reinstatement, I would suggest that the League have Rose sign a contract with three important stipulations: (1) Peter Rose may never be voluntarily involved in any baseball-related gambling activities for any reason whatsoever; (2) if at any time there is evidence to prove that Rose has, through his own free will and accord, gambled on baseball again, his reinstatement will be immediately revoked; and (3) if such revocation occurs, Pete Rose will be banned from baseball for life without any possibility of future reinstatement.

Secondly, after Rose has been reinstated, the Baseball Hall of Fame panel needs to give him fair consideration on the first ballot. I say this because I am convinced that certain members of the panel will withhold their votes on the first ballot as a punitive measure. Certainly they will argue that their withholding is not punitive but rather a protest against the League's decision, but I would argue that the effect of their protest would be punitive nonetheless--and after being banned from baseball for the past nineteen years, I am hard-pressed to find a good reason why further punitive measures against Pete Rose would be necessary.