Read this and then come back and let’s talk about it.

Pete Rose Should Enter the Hall of Fame with Ichiro Suzuki

Be sure to check out the comments as well – a really good discussion. It seems pretty clear from the comments that Pete, nicknamed Charlie Hustle in his day, and his story represent a serious transgression of ethics and likely the law. But it appears that the whole story was never fully told re: his gambling on baseball. And yes, comparing his ‘sin’ to that of taking drugs may be a case of two wrongs don’t make a right, or a bigger sin cancels out a smaller sin. What he did was wrong, and like Lance Armstrong, he didn’t admit to it until he was forced to. But was there more? Did he, in fact, influence the games on which he bet, and in exchange for a lifetime ban, that part was not disclosed? This was alluded to by a commenter. With the press today and the pressure on MLB because of the incredible sums of money involved, such a deal might not be possible. The details would be leaked and the 24 hour news cycle – not to mention baseball talk radio – would go crazy. I kind of liked the reader’s suggestion: since it was a lifetime ban, induct him posthumously. To do otherwise is to buy into the big sin/little sin unfortunate rationale that always gets us in trouble.

But I have to say I put this piece here because I really enjoy and am impressed with Frank Deford’s prose. What do you think?

So let’s talk about it!