Joe Elder
Published: January 21 2005
‘m sure everyone is tired of hearing it, but it needs to be settled. The Pete Rose controversy has been going on since his lifetime banishment from baseball in 1989. Should Pete go to the Hall or not?
I was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and lived there the first 20 years of my life. I grew up a Reds fan. The meaning of baseball is very important in the city that had the first professional baseball team. Cincinnati means a lot to the history of baseball. There have been a lot of great players that have played there, and the top name on that list of course, is none other than Pete Rose. I remember growing up, watching Pete play. He was an amazing player. Pete was not blessed with a great deal of athletic ability, but he had all the heart in the world. Pete gave his all on the diamond, he left it all on the field. That’s why Pete was given the nickname “Charlie Hustle.”
Pete was the man that made the headfirst dive incredibly popular. In Cincinnati, we didn’t call that diving, that was a “Pete Rose slide.” Whenever we played a pick-up game of baseball, arguments always broke out over who got to be “Pete.” Pete meant that much to the city. We were all upset when the Reds sent him to the Phillies, and we all celebrated when he came back to the Reds from the Expos.
Pete also meant a lot to baseball. Pete is the all-time hit king with 4,256 hits. He passed Ty Cobb in 1985 when he got his 4,192 hit off of Eric Show. I remember being at Riverfront Stadium that night, seeing history being made. Pete Rose and Ty Cobb are the only two players in baseball history to collect more than 4,000 hits.
Four years after breaking one of the most difficult records in baseball, Pete got banned for betting on the Reds. Betting on baseball while being in baseball is a huge no-no. Pete was the player-manager of the Reds at the time. Pete was a good manager; he just made a bad decision. We all make bad decisions, almost daily; however, a lifetime punishment for it seems awfully harsh.
Pete just wrote a book and finally admitted that yes, he did bet on baseball. Because of that, all the Pete Rose and Hall of Fame talk has became hot again. Pete broke a very sacred rule as manager of the Reds. For that his punishment is just. Pete Rose, the player, did a lot for baseball though. He did a lot between the lines. For that, Pete more than earned his place in Cooperstown. For that, Pete should be in the Hall of Fame.