“‘Charlie Hustle’ was more than a baseball nickname for Rose; it was his baseball life.” (AlliedNews.com)
Our own Cincinnati Reds legend played his hardest every game, sprinting out walks to first, and sliding headfirst. He’s also the all-time Major League Baseball hit leader, with 4,256, games played at 3,562, at-bats, 14,053, 3,215 singles, and 10,328 outs. These accomplishments have won him three World Series championships, three batting titles, an MVP award, two Gold Glove awards, and a Rookie of the Year award. With all these incredible achievements and accomplishments, Pete Rose has to be in the MLB’s Hall of Fame, right? Unfortunately, not. His scandalous betting controversy is what he’s most notorious for.
Pete Rose bet on baseball, and that’s what’s keeping him out of the Hall of Fame. At the time, sports betting was looked down upon much more than it is now, especially for players and people involved in the team. In recent years, sports culture has softened up quite a bit on gambling, however. With sports betting organizations and websites often being openly promoted, accessible, and somewhat easy to use, the stark landscape and passage of time are noticeable. Times have changed, and many wonder if the harsh punishment handed to Rose went way too far. In recent years, there have been discussions questioning the punishment. Should he be banned for all eternity for something that fans do all the time nowadays?
There is also the argument that can be made that the Baseball Hall of Fame allows players who did much worse into its doors. Some players suspected of steroid usage are celebrated in the Hall of Fame. Some of these players even admitted to it. For some players, like Gary Sheffield, there is a concerning amount of evidence pointing to some kind of performance-enhancing drug being used, abused, or ingested.
It gets crazier. Many early baseball players were known gamblers, and several others, most notably Hall of Famers Honus Wagner and Ty Cobb, were strongly suspected of betting on the game. While we don’t know if they had actually done this, many baseball players were turned down from entering baseball’s pearly gates of the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown due to suspicions of cheating or betting. Many of the people advocating for Pete’s induction into the Hall of Fame have pointed out that his betting on games never actually impacted the games on the field, unlike it would have if he was using steroids.
Pete Rose had been under the impression that MLB commissioner Rob Manfred will induct him into the Hall when he passes away, and with his recent, untimely passing, all we can do is wait to see if his impression is correct.