The Ides of Pete Rose - The Admission

Well, this topic was touched on the “Hits Keeping Coming” Radio Show last night, but I missed posting about it since I was too busy planning for the radio show, plus dealing with my every day.

All-time hits header, Pete Rose mentioned later on the radio yesterday that he bet on the Reds "every night" while he was manager of the team. That admission would be in line with that the Dowd Report said, as well as investigations done.

He spoke Wednesday with Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann on ESPN Radio’s the “Dan Patrick Show” to discuss the new Pete Rose exhibit that will be on display at the Great American Ballpark as part of the Reds Hall of Fame; however, his admission seemed to just come out of the blue during the show.

Soundclip: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2798498#

"I bet on my team every night. I didn't bet on my team four nights a week. I was wrong," Rose said.

Rose said that he believed in his team so much that he bet on them to win every night.

"I bet on my team to win every night because I love my team, I believe in my team," Rose said. "I did everything in my power every night to win that game." (ESPN)

Well, my thoughts of the admission is that I knew that he was indeed guilty his indiscretions, and all he had to do was simply confess and take his lumps for a few years and he’d be in the Hall of Fame.

The man had an addiction, I believe, but in all honesty, he was a professional and should have known better to gamble.

Furthermore, he gambled on his own team, much less once he was managing!

In the case of Pete Rose, the cover-up was worse than the crime (although Rose’s crime was downright serious to begin with and compromised the integrity of the game).

America is a pretty forgiving society if you’re a celebrity, and unless you committed murder or pedophilia, you are more than likely to be absolved of your sins and move on.

With the admission from Pete yesterday, his Hall of Fame candidacy is all but done. If he ever gets in the Hall, it will be either on his death bed or after he’s left the earth.

Radio Show Debuting, A-Rod and Pete Rose...

Well, I am making a foray into broadcasting along with other bloggers – um, internet radio that is.

Ian of Random Thoughts, Jason of My Baseball Bias along with myself will have a new show on the Blog Talk Radio Network called The Hits Keep Coming..., weekly show that spans the world of baseball, and we talk about the latest and greatest news, topics and points of interest in the game today.

The inaugural show is at 7 pm Eastern Time tonight, and join us every Wednesdays at the same time. More info can be found at The Hits Keep Coming... page.

Podcasting and show downloads will be made available shortly...

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Wither A-Rod… Well, possibly the most conflicted athlete in the game, Alex Rodriguez has once again opined on his situation in New York and states he wants to stay in the Big Apple.

He asserted on the Mike and the Mad Dog Show on WFAN: "You're asking me what my sincere feeling is. I want to 100 percent stay in New York. Period. That's it. I don't know how many ways I can say it." … "Either New York is going to kick me out of New York this year, say 'I've had enough of this guy, get him the hell out of here,' and we have an option. Or New York is going to say, 'Hey, we won a world championship, you had a big year, you were a part of it and we want you back.'"

Wow.

Alex, um … would it be not be a good idea if you just went out did your job and worry about everything works out in the end?

I’m sure that stress of New York City must bother you, but in all honesty, did you not know what you were getting into when you agreed in 2004 to the trade?

I feel sorry for him - - almost.

I don’t have much sympathy for a man who makes $25 million plus a year, roughly at least 10 lifetimes of salary for me and probably much more for others. For man who gets as paid as much as he does, it does no good to whine about your state of affairs with the world.

In all honesty, 9999 out of 10000 people would want your life, and I for $250,000 per year would clean up the locker room, do the laundry, mow the grass on the field, and do more for that money for the privilege to be on a sports team.

In the end, Alex, just worry about the game and not what’s around you.

Pete Rose Exhibit in the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame: Baseball legend and infamous personality, Pete Rose attended the opening of his exhibit in his honor in the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.

"Everything should be for the fans," Rose said Tuesday before a preview party celebrating Saturday's opening of a special exhibit in his honor at the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame. "If they retired my number here, don't you think the fans would be elated?

As well, Rose felt that the fans would be, "elated" if baseball reinstated him. (CNNsi)

Um, me – I think you should be honored, and in the Hall of Fame; however, you’d probably be in it already if you had been a lot more contrite and actually sorry for what you did to the sport beforehand…

Barry, Mark and Pete - Mr. Bonds Give His Two Cents on McGwire and Rose

Well, Barry has given his two cents on his thoughts pertaining to the Hall of Fame. He’ll be there one day, but the announcement of this amphetamine use came the day after Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn were elected to the Hall of Fame

Barry Bonds opines: "I congratulate Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn for their induction to the Hall of Fame because they were great ballplayers," Bonds said Wednesday in the Dominican Republic. "But I also think McGwire and Pete Rose should be in Cooperstown."

Huh? Well, Cal and Tony are a given. Those two men are class acts & who played the game right.

Lying is always the easy way out of not facing up to your misdeeds. Too often, we see it happen in America.

As I have said in the past, Mark McGwire should be in the Hall for his exploits, numbers and his contribution to the game. He only got 23.5% of the vote and a lot of it was due to his drug allegations and performance on Capitol Hill in March 2005. Merit-wise, he deserves to get in; however, now perhaps I’d feel comfortable if he’d let the skeletons of out the closet, admit if he did anything, and keep his word about speaking out against drug use.

Pete Rose? Sorry, but no way in hell. The only way I see him getting in the Hall of Fame is either on his death bed or posthumously. Yes, McGwire did perhaps use performance enhancing drugs, but baseball had no rules against it and furthermore it has not been proven he did so.

However, there is no doubt Rose gambled on baseball. When you gamble on your own team while managing it, you have destroyed the integrity of the game.

America is a very forgiving society, and unless you have committed murder or ruined the lives of many people, most do forgive celebrities for their misdeeds. In the case of Peter Rose, no matter what he says or does now, he won’t get in. People will forgive those who have sinned, but not those who continuously lie and only find repentance when it’s convenient for them.

Furthermore, he has capitalized on his infamy by selling baseballs inscribed “I Bet on Baseball” and selling it for a tidy profit, as well as a book that garnered him numerous media interviews.

And he wants in on the Hall of Fame while making money off his misdeeds?

As we know, he was given a lifetime ban from baseball in 1989 for betting on the sport and spent time in prison for tax evasion. Although he is the hits leader with 4,256, his name will never be on a ballot as long as he is banned from the game.

Being truly sorry is showing you are and taking steps towards forgiveness. Pete Rose has done anything but, and for that he’s paying the price.

It’s funny that Barry Bonds decided to chime in on the topic, as for he too is accused of compromising the game via the use of drugs and will face the voters to decide whether he’s part of the Hall of Fame club. Although, I don’t consider Barry’s misdeeds as grave as Pete Rose’s, if he wants to get into to Hall of Fame and truly relishes the honor, he, like Pete Rose need to admit their wrongdoing and make amends for it.