Speaker-Rose

You're like the thief who isn't the least bit sorry he stole, but is terribly, terribly sorry he's going to jail.- Clark Gable (as Captain Rhett Butler)

Tris Speaker played baseball in the Major Leagues from 1907 - 1928.  While he played a majority of his time in the shadows of Ty Cobb, he holds the record for most career doubles: 792.  He also played during the infamous Black Sox Scandal.  While Mr. Speaker is a Hall of Famer and his lifetime batting average was .345 producing 3514 hits would you allow him in if he had bet on baseball during the scandal that plagued baseball during the 1919 World Series?

Of course not.  Yet for some reason, there seems to be a near constant clamoring for Pete Rose to be reinstated into baseball so that he may be considered for the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Twenty five years ago Pete Rose agreed to be suspended from Major League Baseball for his involvement in betting on the game.  Fay Vincent, the baseball commissioner who replaced Bart Giamatti was eloquent in a recent opinion piece:

"...another person who misses that point is Rose himself. The Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver once asked me the killing question:

"Look Commissioner, if Rose is allowed into the Hall of Fame, does that mean a pitcher like me with over 300 wins can bet on baseball?"

He answered himself by pointing out there cannot be two standards for players — with great players being able to gamble and know the honor and other rewards of the Hall of Fame will still accrue."

Mr. Vincent is right here and it can not be overstated.  It appears again and again that it is Mr. Rose who does not get it.  He did play in more winning games (1972) than anyone else.  Yes, he did have more career hits (4256) than anyone else.  However, the provisions of Major League Baseball Rule 21 on Misconduct is clear:

Any player, umpire, or club official or employee, who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has no duty to perform shall be declared ineligible for one year.

Any player, umpire, or club or league official or employee, who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the better has a duty to perform shall be declared permanently ineligible.

Permanently ineligible.  What exactly is the problem Mr. Rose?  Pete Rose can be found every July in Cooperstown hawking autographs in front of local stores while campaigning for being allowed back into baseball, yet it was his autograph that adorned the agreement letter between he and Commissioner Giamatti.

Beyond the rule itself, John Dowd, the man who investigated the situation and wrote the infamous report named after him said "Rose probably did bet against the Reds."

Even if he did not bet against his team, by betting on some games to win and other games he did not bet at all, he indicates to his bookies that the game might be a probable loss.  He might manage differently.  As Ryan Rodenberg's explains in his recent Atlantic piece, Pete Rose would likely burn through his pinch runners, hitters, bullpen, and even lineup to get a win if he were betting on them.  What message does it send about his confidence if he bets $100 per game?  How about $1000?

As noted in the Dowd Report, gambling on your team creates the "ultimate conflict of interest in which the individual player/bettor places his personal financial interest above the interests of the team."

As is now clear for all of us, Mr. Rose bet on baseball.  No matter how much he loved the game, he tarnished it by his own selfish actions and it is his actions that keep him out of the Hall of Fame.