PITTSBURGH — The Philadelphia Phillies planned on putting Pete Rose on their Wall of Fame in August 2017 but canceled his scheduled appearance after a Cincinnati woman testified in federal court that she had a sexual relationship with him when she was 14 or 15. Rose admitted to an affair with the woman but said she was 16 when it started in the early-1970s. He wasn't charged with statutory rape because the statute of limitations had expired.
Now, the Phillies are trying again to honor Rose, baseball's all-time leader with 4,256 hits. They have invited him to attend an Aug. 7 celebration of their 1980 World Series championship team at Citizens Bank Park.
Apparently, the Phillies are ignoring one inconvenient fact:
ROSE IS BANNED FROM BASEBALL.
Am I missing something here?
Rose doesn't belong within a million miles of a major league ballpark as long as he banned by MLB. He agreed to his lifetime suspension in 1989 for violating the sport's No. 1 rule: He gambled on baseball while he was a player-manager with the Cincinnati Reds.
"In planning the 1980 reunion, we consulted with Pete's teammates about his inclusion," the Phillies said in a statement last week. "Everyone wants Pete to be part of the festivities since there would be no trophy in 1980 without him. In addition, the club received permission from the Commissioner's Office to invite Pete as a member of the championship team."
Shame on MLB for making an exception for Rose.
Again.
I didn't get it in 1999 when baseball allowed Rose to be introduced before a World Series game in Atlanta after he was selected to baseball's All-Century team. His appearance was wildly cheered by the fans at Turner Field.
I didn't get it in 2010 when the Reds honored Rose on the field at Great American Ball Park on the 25th anniversary of his record-breaking 4,192nd hit. Again, his appearance was wildly cheered by the fans.
I didn't get it in 2015 when Rose was on the field in Cincinnati before the All-Star Game and recognized as one of the Reds Franchise Four along with Hall of Famers Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan and Barry Larkin. I probably don't need to tell you the crowd reacted well to him.
I didn't get it in 2016 when the Reds retired Rose's No. 14 jersey as part of a weekend-long celebration. Fans chanted his name. Of course, they did.
Silly me for thinking:
ROSE IS BANNED FROM BASEBALL.
These selective exceptions have become irritating. Until MLB lifts the ban on Rose, they need to stop.
You're either banned or you're not, right?
Rose has been trying for years to get reinstated by baseball. We live in a forgiving society that believes in second chances, but he didn't help his cause by lying about his gambling until 2003. Maybe if he had admitted his guilt and said he was sorry earlier ...
Rose's emotional mea culpa in 2010 seemed a little late:
"I disrespected the game of baseball," Rose said, breaking down in tears. "When you do that, you disrespect your teammates, the game and your family. ...
"But I'm a lot better guy standing here tonight."
Clearly, MLB's commissioners don't agree.
Fay Vincent and Bud Selig ignored Rose's requests for reinstatement. Rob Manfred turned him down in 2015, saying that reinstating him "presents an unacceptable risk of future violation by him ... and thus the credibility of our sport."
There is another appeal from Rose on Manfred's desk now. Rose filed it in February 2020 after MLB didn't discipline the Houston Astros players who were involved in the team's signs-stealing scandal.
"There cannot be one set of rules for Mr. Rose and another for everyone else," Rose's petition said.
Many of Rose's fans threw their support behind him, pointing out that MLB is in bed these days with gaming companies. All professional sports are. But, thankfully, the rule against gambling on their sport still is considered the cardinal rule for all athletes. It is posted in every clubhouse and locker room. If it wasn't followed, we wouldn't be able to believe what we are seeing in the stadiums and arenas. There would be chaos.
Manfred's decision on this appeal will be interesting, although I wouldn't be holding my breath if I were Rose. The Dowd Report that led to his banishment is awfully damning, so damning that he agreed to the lifetime sentence.
Rose will continue to make a fortune by doing appearances and autograph shows. Many believe he has thumbed his nose at MLB for years by signing autographs in Cooperstown — just down the street from the Hall of Fame — on induction weekend.
Rose is 81 and desperately wants to get in the Hall of Fame before he dies. Because he is banned, he is ineligible. Voters can't vote for him because he isn't allowed on the ballot.
I can't help but think of something former Pirates coach Bill Virdon said in Jim Leyland's office during a late-season series at New York's Shea Stadium in 1992 when Rose's name came up. I still can hear the passion in Virdon's voice and still see the veins in his neck standing out:
"They had better never let that son of a [gun] in the Hall of Fame."
I agreed with Virdon then. I still agree with him all these years later.
