Pete Rose, Essay Example

The highest recognition that a baseball player can receive is to be selected as a candidate to the baseball hall of fame. The memorial at Cooperstown is an impressive shrine to the participants of the game of major league baseball and the game itself.  The perspective of Abrams (1998), Butterworth (2010) and Weiler (2009) will be explored with regards to the following question: Should a man who has over four thousand lifetime hits be kept from inclusion into the Cooperstown Hall of Baseball Fame because he bet upon a few games?

The candidates who are deficient with regards to the puritanical concepts which are maintained by major league baseball may perceive being admitted into the Cooperstown hall of fame as an unreachable attainment.  Pete Rose had been accused of robbing the puritanical heritage of major league baseball. This aspect caused Pete Rose to be restricted from lifetime participation in the game of major league baseball. Pete Rose has been recognized as the most memorable baseball hitter in history (Abrams 170).

An official declaration was emitted by the National Baseball Players’ Hall of Fame with regards to the circumstances which caused them to deny Pete Rose’s candidacy as a Baseball Hall of Fame member. The regulations for the selection of baseball players state that: “Any player on baseball’s ineligible list shall not be a candidate for consideration by the Baseball Writers Association of America or the baseball committee on baseball veterans” (qtd. Abrams 170). The declaration which had been emitted states that Pete Rose can gain eligibility into the Baseball Hall of Fame by making an application for being reinstated to the Commissioner of Major League Baseball. Subsequently, Pete Rose must be the receiver of 3/ 4 of the votes (Abrams 171).

The Baseball Hall of Fame has negated that there had been retribution against Pete Rose.  The evidence demonstrates that the admission of Pete Rose into the Baseball Hall of Fame has initiated some significant disputes with regards to those who perform the function of gatekeepers into the Baseball’s Hall of Fame at Cooperstown. A 1992 baseball hall of fame ruling seriously influenced Pete Rose’s capacity of finding absolution and being admitted to the Baseball Hall of Fame. This regulation states that any individual who is prohibited from participating in the game of baseball at the major league parks cannot be admitted into the baseball hall of fame (Butterworth 3).

The baseball hall of fame’s commission recognized that it should have enacted this regulation prior to the incidences which occurred with Pete Rose’s baseball career. The members of the commission seem to be unforgiving with regards to the allegations of tax evasion which have been brought against Pete Rose and his wagering on the outcome of baseball games. Pete Rose had been subjected to the influence of the Dowd report for his allegations of gambling with regards to the outcomes of major league baseball (Butterworth 68).

Perhaps Pete Rose’s downfall is derived that the judge who had presided over his trail, Carl Rubin had been a lifetime Cincinnati Reds fan.  When the allegations had been brought against Pete Rose, he was serving in the capacity of manager of the Cincinnati Reds. This aspect caused Pete Rose to be denied the collective bargaining protection which would normally be delegated to the players of a team. Pete Rose made an error of admitting to associating with betting agents and this caused the ruling by the commission to be that Pete Rose was in violation of the best interest of the game of baseball and the Cincinnati Reds. In addition Pete Rose did not report the income which had been received from baseball signing shows (Weiler 34).

These legal aspects caused Pete Rose to be in concordance with the ruling that in lieu of additional criminal prosecution he would simply be stated as being ineligible for admission to the Baseball Hall of Fame. The primary suspicion which had been held by the baseball commissioners is that Pete Rose was betting on the team which he had managed. Giamatti announced to sports announcer Howard Cosell that he was eradicating a cancerous element form the game of baseball. Subsequently, Pete Rose admitted to not declaring over $400,000 in revenues which had been received as revenues of baseball cards.  Subsequently to the case, Giamatti who had been the baseball commissioner possessed away (Weiler 61).

Conclusion

The admission of involvement in the gambling scandal in which Pete Rose became intertwined as the manager of the Cincinnati Reds caused everyone to react harshly. This perhaps had been attributed to the aspect of Pete Rose being a manager and gambling against the team which he had been managing. This had not concurred in the modern history of baseball. It is feasible that over time Pete Rose may engage in appellate actions in order to gain instatement into the Baseball Player’s Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

Works Cited

Abrams, Roger, I. Legal basis: Baseball and the Law. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1998. Print.

Butterworth, Michael L. Baseball and rhetoric of purity: The national pastime and American’s identity during the War on Terror. Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama Press, 2010. Print.

Weiler, Paul C. Leveling the playing field: How the law can make sports better for fans. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2009. Print.