Here’s the only counter-argument that might be made concerning BOTH men.
Consider Cap Anson, MLB’s first 3000 hit guy, and arguably the biggest star of the pre-1900 era.
But also…
A TOTAL RACIST who refused to even take the field in exhibitions if there was a Black player in the game. It was concern among the owners about losing baseball’s biggest star (Anson) that was the main reason they made a “gentlemen’s agreement” banning Blacks from MLB.
Contrary to popular belief, Jackie Robinson was NOT the first Black player in major league baseball.
It was either THIS guy:
Or possibly THIS guy:
Anyway…
Guess what?
Anson is in the Hall of Fame.
If a man like that can be in the HOF…can’t anyone based purely on their game play, and regardless of their character?
For me it’s not a question of character. Anson was obviously a terrible person, as was a solid portion of the Hall, but he didn’t delegitimize the game itself with his actions. Match-fixing, point-shaving, and gambling against yourself call into question the integrity of the sport itself, which is why it’s immediately disqualifying. Even if Jackson or Rose were otherwise saints, that’s a bright line that they irreparably crossed. Even cheating to win (steroid users, 2017 Astros) is nowhere near as bad as throwing games, or even putting yourself in a position where you could be credibly accused of doing so.
i would leave rose out for betting on baseball while still active but if baseball was/is going to do it eventually; they shoulda done it while he was still alive; pretty crappy to do it afterwards; they had plenty of time to do it while he was still alive imo; imo, baseball is just sticking it to rose again by waiting until after he is dead so he cant enjoy being inducted.
but its consistent with baseball, the worst managed pro sport for decades imo, maybe for a century
Doesn’t anybody realize we’re debating the internal HR complaints of a private organization which takes both a congressional monopoly law exemption and tons of taxpayer money? They’re arguing about who is cheating whom when their pay is in the millions, and we’re freaking out right along with them? I love baseball too but come on. We might as well go back to gossiping about which cheerleaders made out with each other’s boyfriends, it has nothing to do with us.
Rose knew that betting on baseball, regardless of the circumstances, would draw him a lifetime ban if he was caught. He did it anyway and wasn’t especially apologetic about it after the fact. It seems he gambled that being Pete Rose, the all time hits king, would let him skip around the ban.
You could say something similar about the overwhelming bulk of posts on this board and any of the ones like it. Ultimately, sports are a multibillion dollar industry centered around rooting for laundry and spending multiple hours per week (at a minimum) watching grown men who don’t know we exist play a children’s game.
