Despite all the gambling and things Does Pete Rose deserve to be in the Hall of Fame?
153095
All time hits king. He deserves to be there,and it's a damn shame that hes not. People make mistakes. If Darryl Strawberry gets a million chances for snorting cocaine over and over again. Pete Rose,one of the greatest hitters ever,deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. Bud Selig is an idiot!!!! I am pissed off now that I have to think hes not in the Hall of Fame.
1157672
They should just add a special wing to the Hall of Fame-\n\nThe Chemically Enhanced Cheater Wing-\n\nfor guys like Bonds & Mark MacGuire.\n\nThen, for guys like Pete Rose-\n\nThe Criminal Wing.
434816
Pete Rose, with 4256 hits.\n\nand if we are lucky, never to be in the hall of fame
160406
I think he and McGuire will eventually be in the hall of fame...but it will take a while for it to happen.   Not sure he deserves it....but I do think he'll get in.
393896
Tough to say....his homers say HOF, the rest of his numbers do not.  He is in the same boat as Mark McGwire.  I also am a Cardinals fan.  I think he will eventually make it, but not on the first ballot.  Same goes for Big Mac.
449095
First of all, don't forget Shoeless Joe Jackson! Rose should already be in - as a first ballot inductee.  If there is a Hall of Fame, then his playing career numbers are among the best in MLB history.  Bonds should also get in.  Assuming he took steroids, his pre seroid numbers easily qualify him for first ballot induction.  \n\nIs anyone opposing the induction of Rose and Bonds aware of  the character flaws of prior inductees?  Cobb allegedly killed his father in law.  A high percentage of HOF members who played in the 70's through the 90's used "greenies" (available in the clubhouse!!!) - illegal without a medical prescription!!!  A few pitchers (illegally) threw spit balls to enhance their careers. \n\nFurthermore, arguably baseball wouldn't be as popular today without having gone through a steroids period.  Consider that the cancellation of the World Series by the owners as an over reaction to a labor dispute created a bad odor over all of baseball.  When MLB baseball resumed, fan interest had declined significantly.  It wasn't until the (perhaps steroid induced) homerun barrage, highlighed by the colossal battle between McGuire and Sosa, that fans fully returnd their attention to baseball.  So, perhaps steroids brought the fans back and fattened the pocket books of the owners (who are also complicid in this).  If steroids were the reason, who lost (I don't for a moment discount the trajedy of some hero worshipping teen thinking steroids are ok; and then causing serious injury to his life).  \n\nSome argue that the concept of comparing statistics from one era to another is no longer possible and that records no longer mean anything.  Well, even  without steroids, it still would not be possible to accurately compare the statistis of one era to another.  Yes, Ruth as unbelievable as his stats were, (hence the term "Ruthian"), still can't be compared to later day stats. Ruth didn't compete against the best athletes of his day - only the best white athletes (due to the racist rules of the owners)!!! (Interesting, as an aside, in the off season, while "barnstorming" he competed against Negro League all stars.)  Also, Ruth played in few night games (there weren't any until the late '30s).  Also there was no plane travel to the Left Coast.  There were only 8 teams; none further west than St louis nor further south than Washingon (DC).  Travel was relatively easy.  In short, a players statistics can only be compared to those who played in his era.  \n\nThe Hall of Fame is only for the top 1% of a particular era.  And, in view of all the character flaws of the existing members of the HOF, voters have (and should continue to) only looked at what transpired "between the lines".  Would anyone argue that Rose, Bonds AND Shoeless Joe Jackson were not in the top 1% of players in their respective eras?
931549
Yes, he should go for the following reasons:\n1. He has the stats to be an automatic hall of famer.\n2. What steroid did he take??  He took Creatine, which is a body building enhancer but is not a steroid.  \n3. Even if Sosa and McGuire were jacked up on every steroid known to man, there was no rule against it in baseball until after their record-breaking chase.\n4. People say McGuire and Sosa carried baseball in the 1996-1998 seasons.  Although I agree with ESPN announcer Mike Greenberg that if they did not do it, someone else would have stepped up and carried baseball...I do believe that they were the best ambassadors for baseball at that time.  Can you picture Barry Bonds and Manny Ramirez having the same good-guy media image for the game of baseball as those two had?\n5. It's not like McGuire came out of nowhere and started hitting monster number of homreuns.  10 out of 11 seasons where McGuire played 100 games or more, he hit over 30 homers.\n\nAs you can tell, I am a very strong supporter of McGuire going into the hall of fame.  HOWEVER, I don't think he is a first ballot hall of famer, just because of the legends he is facing on the ballot this year.  Ripken and Gwynn are average everyday guys who went to work everyday and worked hard at perfecting their craft.  They became legends while they were playing, not for monster homerun numbers, or huge strikeout numbers,  but for doing the simple things in the game to perfection and showing every   Tom, Dick and Harry out there that if you work hard at what you believe in, you too can acheive greatness.  They were ambassafors to the game every day of their lives.  I am hoping the Hall of Fame voters are smart enough to vote McGuire in on the second ballot.
403715
Pete Rose of the ..REDS,Phillies,Expos,REDS again.
178524
Yes, it's time to put all that stuff behind us and put Pete in the HOF.  He is one of the greatest hitters of all time.  Bud Selig has done everyone a disservice by not making a decision on Rose's status.
126153
Jackson was found guilty by the commissioner of baseball for participating in gambling activities associated with baseball.  However, he was never PROVEN guilty of this - it was an autocratic decision by the commissioner to ban him from the major league teams and their affiliates.\n\nThat said, the Hall of Fame is for ALL of baseball, not just the MLB and SHOULD be independant of MLB (it's not really, but it should be).  So, the decision of the commissioner should have not weight in whether or not someone is inducted into the hall of fame.  This would then make both Joe Jackson and Pete Rose eligible for the Hall and both are VERY deserving to be there.\n\nRemeber Gambling is legal in a number of places and sports gambling is actually supported by the Canadian Government via the Sport Select program (a lotto game where you select winners, losers and tie games, etc.), icluding baseball.  This by definition should exclude the Toronto Blue Jays from participating in the MLB.\n\nJoe should be in the Hall.
785641
I couldn't agree more.\n\nCarter is one of those guys who put together a nice career, then played for a while in a large market where he won the World Series while being very photogenic and freindly, all of which helped him garner a great deal of support after his retirement.\n\nI'm a bit of a snob when it comes to the HOF, and I don't like anyone who causes people to say, "Well, if so and so is in the Hall of Fame, then this guy should be in."  Carter, unfortunately, is one of those "so and so" guys who drag down the general level of achievement needed for Hall induction.  It's one thing if he'd been voted in by the Veterans Committee, but it's crazy that he was allowed in by the regular group of writers.\n\nCarter was a good catcher who had some decent offensive years, but his low OBP is unimpressive.  He obviously had some power, but that was offset by his inability to reach base regularly on anything other than a home run.  Carter deserves credit for being one of the best at his position for a while in the NL, but that shouldn't mean a plaque for him in Cooperstown.
1181564
I am not a big fan of either of the two players, but I think that they are both some of the best players ever in baseball. No matter what they did or used in the past, they still have the ability to do what they did. Anyone can take steriods, few people can hit 700+ homeruns and Rose is the hit leader.
378469
I listened to a program about this on the radio. They said that back in the first part of the 20th century, Gambling on baseball was a plaugue that threatened the integrity of the entire sport. So they came down hard on gambling with extremely strict rules. Pete Rose was a casualty of those old rules.\n\nThe steriod users are not subject to rules that strict because they havent been written...YET. I see very tough rules coming down the pipe that may one day be the undoing of a future athlete, but not these guys today.
543999
You're comparing apples to oranges. Pete Rose broke the cardinal rule of baseball - Thou Shall Not Bet on Baseball - and was banned for life. His name isn't even on the ballot. He should NEVER be elected into the HOF. As for Sammy and the rest of the steroid crowd, MLB was complicit in this scandal by turning a blind eye to it's use until the public/press rightfully brought it to the forefront. It's illegal now and anyone who gets caught now should never get into the HOF (i.e. Rafeal Palmerio.) Even though we all suspect Sammy used, he was never caught. Innocent until proven guilty.\n\nThat said, based on numbers alone, Sammy should and will get in. It's only a matter of when he'll get in. I won't be surprised if the writers refuse to elect him and the Veteran's committee puts him in later.\n\nAnd the corked bat is a non-issue. Gaylord Perry is in the Hall and that guy had vaseline dripping from his cap.
1012048
Ichiro is a hitting machine. And could be the first player to hit .400 and i hope he passes Pete Rose that way the best hitter will at least be in the hall of fame.
719753
absolutely he does...his career numbers rank up there with the best of all time and he did what he did playing mostly on teams that weren't very good...almost 300 wins, over 3000 k's, world series champ with pittsburgh in '79 and twins in '87...he is long overdue to be in
896843
No, he is NOT a Hall of Famer\n\nThe way he has forced trades via poor play and bad attitude I believe has killed that thought.\n\nI also must disagree... I do not think 500 home runs is an automatic invite anymore, especially amongst players of this "enhanced" era.\n\nAfter all, Rafael Palmeiro has 569 HRs and over 3,000 hits, Sosa has 588 HRs, and Big Mac has 583.\n\nWhich one of them do you see getting in at any time soon?\n\nOH, and IF he squeeks in... it will NOT be as a Yankee, (his stats there were mediocre at best.) he'll go in as a Brave.