Pete Rose personified everything good about professional baseball. His nickname, “Charlie Hustle,” said it all. But it was his record-breaking 4,256 hits that sealed his legacy as one of the all-time greats. Unfortunately, Rose had a tragic flaw: he was a gambler.
Mind you, even then he was an honorable gambler, betting only for his team to win. That distinguished him from the infamous Chicago Black Sox players, who bet on their team to lose the 1919 World Series. Yet, in their holy wisdom, the MLB commissioner decided that Rose brought the game into as much disrepute and deserved a similar punishment: banishment from the Hall of Fame.
Michael Jordan personified everything good about professional basketball. His moniker, “The GOAT,” says it all. But he too was a notorious gambler. However, even if he’d bet on his team to win, basketball players would’ve mutinied if the commissioner tried to ban Jordan from the Hall of Fame. After all, what pride is there in being a Hall of Famer if the game’s best player isn’t? Not to mention the hypocrisy in baseball now promoting gambling as if it’s key to enjoying the game.
Ultimately, nothing betrays the unfairness of Rose’s banishment quite like the cheaters and racists who have strolled into the Hall. It’s hypocrisy at its worst — like hanging a thief who stole a loaf of bread while giving the embezzler a friggin’ medal. Baseball’s sanctimonious gatekeeping ended up punishing the passion and grit that players admire and fans celebrate. That’s why Rose’s absence from its Hall of Fame isn’t just a snub; it’s a stain … on baseball. And Donald Trump leading calls to induct him posthumously ring as hollow as his campaign promises.
