Analysis: Pete Rose’s most recent (and maybe final) snub by baseball demonstrates hypocrisy
LAS VEGAS: Pete Rose was understandably in no condition to talk much on Monday following Commissioner Rob Manfred’s decision to slam the door on what is very certainly going to be his final opportunity to return to baseball.
But it was still a workday. Rose dutifully brought out a bag of random pens, sat down at a folding table outside the Mandalay Bay casino, and got right to work.
On just this day, he signed a black bat for a mere $299. Attracted by the two young men wearing Pete Rose jerseys and his willingness to bark at passersby, a few fans strolled in.
One shouted, “Pete Rose, here today guys.” He’s baseball’s hit king. Meet a living legend here.
Rose didn’t appear to be upset if he was upset by Manfred rejecting his request to return to baseball. Clad in a white Cincinnati Reds cap, he engaged a reporter in friendly conversation about the match but stated he would give the decision more attention the next day.
Rose must find it shocking that a lifetime ban actually means a lifetime from now on. He will not have another opportunity to challenge his baseball wagering restriction at the age of 74, over thirty years after his initial ban.
Manfred said, “Mr. Rose has not presented credible evidence of a reconfigured life.”
Manfred intended for Rose to remain an unrepentant gambler who bets on a variety of sports, including baseball, when he said that Rose had been reconfigured. Although the commissioner correctly notes that it’s lawful to be just a short escalator ride away from where he offers autographs in the sports book, he dismisses it as unimportant.
Rose might have mentioned that he has long since accepted responsibility for his acts, if he was speaking. He may point out that he has completed several years of his sentence and that, without a murmur from the baseball community, Fox Network welcomed him to join its team of analysts during the World Series.
Or he may simply point out the obvious hypocrisy of those in charge of the sport nowadays.
These are the same individuals that support daily fantasy sports by claiming that they are not gambling, which is nearly as absurd as Rose’s long-standing denial that he placed baseball bets. However, daily fantasy sports are financially supported by Major League Baseball, which poses an equal threat to the integrity of the game as Rose’s Reds bets.
He may also be perplexed as to why the steroid period monarchs, whose exaggerated stats all but wrecked the game, are still greeted with open arms. This includes Barry Bonds, who, with baseball’s OK, starts working for the Marlins as a hitting coach in Florida in a few months.
Rose will gladly charge you $199 for the ball that is available for that. He writes: “Hits 4,256” on it. Drugs 0.
Cliff Cho, the sales manager of a Las Vegas BMW dealership, questioned Pete Rose, saying, “Steroid users can get in the Hall of Fame and they directly affected the game, so why not Pete Rose?” Cliff Cho purchased a baseball for Rose to autograph. “And he didn’t get 4,256 hits just because he bet on the Reds.”
Rose undoubtedly possesses the necessary stature to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. He would be chosen on the first ballot if he didn’t have the burden of gambling, but he will never get the chance because the Hall has declared him ineligible to vote, unlike Bonds and the others.
Without a doubt, Rose has been his own worst enemy when it comes to his struggle with his beloved sport. Rose has long denied ever having placed a baseball wager. Manfred alleges that at their previous meeting this year, Rose lied to him when he was asked about the recent revelations that he had placed a wager on baseball in 1986 while serving as a player-manager for the Reds.
He can be rough, and Rose can be conceited. You really shouldn’t go to eat with him if you’re easily upset.