Pete Rose is one of the greatest players to ever play Major League Baseball. He is the all-time leader in hits with 4256. Think about that. 3000 hits is considered a major milestone for a player. Only 27 players have 3000+ hits. Rose has over FOUR THOUSAND hits. Ty Cobb is second, Hank Aaron third, Stan Musial fourth, Tris Speaker fifth, Carl Yastrzemski sixth, Cap Anson seventh, Honus Wagner eighth, Paul Molitor ninth, and Eddie Collins is tenth. That list of names is absolutely astounding. Everyone other one of those guys is in the Hall of Fame. There is no doubt that Pete Rose’s stats are Hall of Fame worthy. The doubt lies in his actions off the field.
Many people try to compare Pete Rose betting on baseball to steroids and that if Rose is inducted into the Hall-of-Fame then Barry Bonds should be as well. However, there is a huge difference between Rose’s actions and Bonds’s. First off, Rose never bet on games he played in. He never threw games and his betting never affected the outcome of games. His conduct certainly violated MLB rules and his lies afterwards hurt his legacy dearly, but Rose never compromised the integrity of the game. That cannot be understated. Continue reading “Let Pete Rose In Cooperstown”
The Boston Red Sox may be tied for first in the American League East (for now. In ten minutes, they won’t be). They may have scored the fifth most runs in baseball. They may have the best bullpen in baseball. But the Boston Red Sox have a lot of problems.
Danny Vinik 