We all knew it was coming when we heard that former
Commissioner of Major League Baseball Bud Selig was retiring and new
Commissioner Rob Manfred was taking over but now it’s official and the ink is
dry. Pete Rose has sent in his application to Commissioner Manfred for
reinstatement into the game of Major League Baseball. Manfred said he was open
to the idea and would review the case, although naturally no timetable would be
set for a decision either way, but this week Rose got one significant person
inside MLB in his corner in MLB Player’s Association head Tony Clark. Clark went
as far as to ditch the political correctness of it all and said he wanted Rose
back in the game. Clark was quoted as saying the following short, simple and to
the point quote:
"I would love to see Pete
reinstated."
We all know that Rose agreed to a lifetime ban in 1989
following an investigation that concluded that he bet on the team he was
managing, the Cincinnati Reds, to win games. Sports betting was against the
rules and the moral conduct code then as much as steroids are against them now
yet players with one, two or in Manny Ramirez’s case three strikes (that we
know about) are still not banned from the game permanently. Rose betting on the
game was wrong but unlike say a Shoeless Joe Jackson ban for throwing and
affecting the outcome of World Series games Rose went out and did what he would
have done whether he had a bet on the game or not, he tried to win the game. He
was employed to win games and his career as a manager was dependent on him
winning games. He had a lot more at stake than money every time he went into
that dugout as a manager, his livelihood and his ability to provide his family
was at stake.
The message has been sent to anyone and everyone who would
ever consider betting on the game, especially Rose, and it’s time to re-open
that case and that book in history and right a wrong. Call me progressive, call
me soft-hearted, hell call me a liberal I don’t care just don’t call me late
for dinner. Get Rose back in the game, the game deserves it a lot more than
Rose deserves it and the game needs one less black eye on its plate. This is an
easy fix and would start off the Manfred era with a bang, make it happen.
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Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)