Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Reds Decide to Honor Pete Rose

Our own Patrick Higgins gives his insight on the Cincinnati Reds choosing to place Pete Rose into their Hall-of-Fame. 


Article by Patrick Higgins.

Hello everyone, there was some great news out of baseball this week, the Cincinnati Reds have announced that they will induct Pete Rose into their hall of fame. To me this is something that is long overdue, and should’ve happened a long time ago given everything that has happened.

As part of their Hall of Fame weekend June 24-26, the Reds will also retire Rose's No. 14, hold a 40-year reunion of the 1976 world champion Reds and have a banquet where Rose will receive the red sports coat Hall members wear. In December, new MLB commissioner Rob Manfred upheld Rose's lifetime ban from the game for gambling on baseball. The Reds with this move have made it clear, that they believe that he belongs in their hall of fame. Rose was banned from baseball in 1989, but he denied gambling on baseball up until 2004. In rejecting Rose's bid for reinstatement, Manfred cited his continuing gambling and the fact that he bet on the game as a player and manager for the Reds.

Rose was asked Tuesday if he had given up on being inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame. "I haven't given up on Cooperstown. I'm not the type who's going to give up on anything," he said. "But this is fine, I'm happy ... I'm not going to sit here and say it's the second-best thing, cause it's not ... I'm from Cincinnati. This is the first big thing.” In 1991 the Hall adopted a rule keeping anyone on the permanently ineligible list off the ballot.


I absolutely love that the Reds finally gave one of the best players in their clubs history the respect and honor that he deserves. Pete Rose is the all-time hit king in MLB history, and just that fact should get him into any Hall-of-Fame discussion. I do understand that Rose bet on baseball, but I think it is time to get over it. We live in a society that accepts gambling, the times have CHANGED. If the Reds who he bet on can get over it and let Rose into their Hall-of-Fame, then I believe that the MLB can too.

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