The Debate Over Pete Rose Continues

It's been a busy week at the Pearly Gates, and a sad one here as prominent actors and athletes shuffled off this mortal coil.

We lost Dame Maggie Smith, Kris Kristofferson and John Amos from the world of entertainment, along with Pete Rose and Dikembe Mutombo from the world of sports.

Perhaps the most tragic was Mutombo, who succombed to brain cancer at the age of 58. Great big man in the game; loved his finger wag no-no-no after blocked shots.

But I digress a little.

With the passing of Pete Rose, the rebirth of the debate over his Hall of Fame entry begins. The all-time hits leader in Major League Baseball was banned for life by baseball's commissioner for betting on baseball. Perhaps the most egregious while manager of the Cincinnati Reds.

On the wall of every minor league and major league clubhouse I've been in was a poster warning against gambling on baseball.

Pete knew what he was doing and chose to do it anyway. And since pretty much every professional sport is now in bed with on-line gambling sites (and many states have legalized sports betting), it creates a murky, gray area for society.

If a lifetime ban applies to the person, then by all means let's put Rose in the HOF. Took an informal poll among friends who were all for his addition to the hall. A couple made very impassioned, convincing arguements.

Have always said I wanted to keep him out until he was beyond being able to benefit from it financially. So now, let him in. BUT be sure that, on Pete's plaque, it points out the lifetime ban and the reason for it.

And while we're letting Pete into the HOF, let's open the doors for Shoeless Joe Jackson, who died 73 years ago. Surely his "lifetime ban" has expired. Painted with the same brush as those Chicago White Sox who were caught fixing the 1919 World Series (the Black Sox Scandal), he was acquitted in court of law in 1921 of having anything to do with it. Yet Judge Kenesaw  Mountain Landis, commissioner at the time, barred him for life. The career .356 hitter had a fine World Series, batting a series-high .375 with three doubles, a home run and six runs batted in. In fact, he accounted for 11 of Chicago's 20 runs and did not commit an error. Hardly numbers of someone throwing the game.

Jackson couldn't read or write, so it's possible (as he said later) that a team lawyer talked him into signing a contract he didn't fully understand.

The average time for a 9 inning game came in at 2 hours, 36 minutes this year. Thank you, pitch clock.

There were only 26 complete games by a pitcher in the MLB this year. In 1975, Catfish Hunter of the Oakland A's had 30. Let's let that sink in for a bit.