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ESPN OTL: Pete Rose bet on baseball while he was a player

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Sephzilla

Member
I really think it's just a matter of time before we find out he bet on himself. It sure seems like he's bet on everything else
 
Gambling is illegal in almost all of the US. Which means you have to gamble with potentially dangerous elements such as the Mafia (in Pete Rose case). If you get in debt with those people they can have a lot of control/influence over you.

Gambling at all is bad enough but betting on your own team brings all sorts of things into question. The guy has to be a fiendish addict

Isn't gambling legal in Vegas? That's not really a dangerous element.
 
If you bet against yourself, sure.

But if you bet on yourself, what's the harm?

Any outside influence on your performance is unacceptable. Let's say he bet on himself to get a hit that day. Hey, everyone's always trying to get a hit, what's the harm? But maybe he's 0-fer in his first three at-bats and up 3-0 in his last at-bat because the reliever can't find the plate in a close game and the smart move is to try and draw a walk but...
 

AkuMifune

Banned
He's a liar and a cheat and has terrible taste in women. I mean, he's a baseball player.

Give the guy a break and put him in the hall. His effort on the field is what matters and no one would ever question that.
 

terrisus

Member
The key thing about this, is he didn't bet AGAINST himself. So I have no problem with this. Put him in the HOF as the most hits ever, make a note he gambled on baseball, don't include him in any of the HOF ceremonies. Problem fixed.

Baseball writers are assholes who couldn't make a team, so they judge everything like assholes. None of these writers have faults? None have cheated on their wives, done drugs, or gone gambling? I highly doubt that. If they have such high standards for what is supposed to be the best ever, their standards should be just as high in order to vote.

I know Bob Ryan has a vote in who gets into the baseball HOF, and he condones violence against women. Surely the voters should be held to a high regard too?

The writers aren't the ones who made the rules on who is eligible for the Hall of Fame, nor do they have any control in making him eligible.
 
There is nothing in Pete Rose's background to suggest he would gamble "honorably".

Gambling can become a disease and there is absolutely no honor beholden of addicted gamblers. They will do anything and everything they can to tilt the odds in their favor.

He clearly did not need the money - he did it because it was an addiction and winning a bet becomes an obsession for these guys - even if means doing it dishonorably.
 

zychi

Banned
The writers aren't the ones who made the rules on who is eligible for the Hall of Fame, nor do they have any control in making him eligible.

The commissioner does. The writers have more influence on the commissioner than anyone besides the owners. The owners don't give two shits about Pete.
Also, I'm speaking in general about all the guys they are "keeping out" who beat records.
 

JustenP88

I earned 100 Gamerscore™ for collecting 300 widgets and thereby created Trump's America
There is nothing in Pete Rose's background to suggest he would gamble "honorably".

Gambling can become a disease and there is absolutely no honor beholden of addicted gamblers. They will do anything and everything they can to tilt the odds in their favor.

He clearly did not need the money - he did it because it was an addiction and winning a bet becomes an obsession for these guys - even if means doing it dishonorably.

Should they hold alcoholics out of the hall of fame?
 

Couleurs

Member
Just going to make a mental note of all who want to put Pete in the hall of fame but want to ban all alleged or known steroid users.

Yeah, the way steroid users are unofficially banned from the Hall pisses me off. Why are the steroid users of the 90s-00s any worse than the amphetamine users of the 50s-80s?

Like all the people who say Hank Aaron is the true home run champ instead of Bonds. Guess what, Aaron took drugs to improve his performance also.
 

terrisus

Member
The commissioner does. The writers have more influence on the commissioner than anyone besides the owners. The owners don't give two shits about Pete.
Also, I'm speaking in general about all the guys they are "keeping out" who beat records.

Alright...

But none of that has anything to do with connecting your comments about writers with the topic of this thread - which is, specifically, Pete Rose.
 

gogosox82

Member
*6 months later*

"So he threw a couple of games. It's not like he cost them a championship or anything. "

Edit: at this point it's principle. If you let Pete Rose into the Hall of Fame, it would be like Homer allowing Bart to see Itchy & Scratchy the movie. You have to put your foot down or you risk an entire generation of players not taking you seriously over these kinds of things. Sort of like how the witch hunt over Canseco/Bonds/Maguire slowed down the blatant juicing and brought the home run numbers back to a realistic level.

The drug testing policy had more to do with slowing down juicing than any witch hunt the media would have had. Guys would still be throwing up 60 hr seasons like it was nothing without that policy and probably wouldn't care in the media didn't like them or held it against them.
 
IMO - anyone who cheats to win should be banned.

And by that I mean:

-Cheats to set records. (steroids, foreign or banned substances, corked bats, pine tar, grease, etc...)

-Cheats to win games.

-Cheats to win gambling bets against themselves.

-Hacks opposing team's computers to get insider knowledge.

-Deflates footballs below the rules threshold.

-Records opposing teams signal callers.

-Opens tunnels during field goals to influence wind speed and direction.

-Invites officials to party boat/party bus orgies to win favor.

-Blasts fake crowd noise through speakers to make it louder when opposing teams are on offense.

For starters...
 

shira

Member
I don't know why this is becoming such a huge deal now as the fact that he bet as a manager is so much worse. Heh had much more potential control over a game as a manager than as a player.

That said, he should be in the hall of fame. Even if you do it quietly without any fanfare or ceremony. Just put on his plaque that he was banned for life for gambling. If the hall of fame really wants to tell the history of baseball it should include everything. You can't take ghengis khan out of a history book.
 
I don't know why this is becoming such a huge deal now as the fact that he bet as a manager is so much worse. Heh had much more potential control over a game as a manager than as a player.

That said, he should be in the hall of fame. Even if you do it quietly without any fanfare or ceremony. Just put on his plaque that he was banned for life for gambling. If the hall of fame really wants to tell the history of baseball it should include everything. You can't take ghengis khan out of a history book.

It's not like he's not mentioned in the museum. He's just not honored with a plaque. The Hall doesn't pretend Ty Cobb owns the all-time hits record.

Also the names on that slip are making me nostalgic. John Candiotti!
 

terrisus

Member
I'm nobody.

But why is one form of cheating acceptable for the HOF and the other isn't?

If you're arguing about integrity of the game, how is betting worse than doctoring/spitballs?

Because there are different levels and kinds and types of cheating.

And this one had a specific rule in place for it at the time that it happened.
 

Omega

Banned
Seems like people keep ignoring Ninja Scooter and Albatross when they point out why betting on yourself is bad.

You can acknowledge what he did was great but you never induct him into the HoF. Yeah it sucks and yeah he might be the greatest hitter of all time, but he broke one of the only unanimous rules in all of sports. He valued money over integrity and he has to live with that.
 
Or letting guys in with stats like this:

His .260 average, 138 HRs and 853 RBI just do not get the job done.

Bill Mazeroski

Get off the high horse and let the man in.

One of the, unfortunately, very rare times that a player gets inducted into the HoF for his defensive ability instead of just gaudy offensive numbers and you seriously want to hold it against them?
 
I'm nobody.

But why is one form of cheating acceptable for the HOF and the other isn't?

If you're arguing about integrity of the game, how is betting worse than doctoring/spitballs?

It's a line they drew in the sand since a team threw the World Series for money.

There's almost nothing worse for the integrity of the game.
 

Velcro Fly

Member
Guys take roids to play better and increase stats and by association their chance to win.

Guys who bet on baseball on some days and not on others and then lie for 30 years about it there's no way you can trust they tried to win every day.

Now if you've ever seen Pete Rose play baseball and knew nothing about the betting you'd never believe a guy like him could ever not give it 100% every game. It's sad.
 
Guys take roids to play better and increase stats and by association their chance to win.

Guys who bet on baseball on some days and not on others and then lie for 30 years about it there's no way you can trust they tried to win every day.

Now if you've ever seen Pete Rose play baseball and knew nothing about the betting you'd never believe a guy like him could ever not give it 100% every game. It's sad.

Point shaving and taking dives are easier for great players to do convincingly.
 

sangreal

Member
I don't know why this is becoming such a huge deal now as the fact that he bet as a manager is so much worse.

Simply because he applied to be reinstated this year and is still lying about betting as a player (to try to draw a line between his 'good' player career and 'bad' managerial career).
 
He's never getting in. They still won't let Joe Jackson in for "fixing" the 1919 world series where he had 12 hits for a .375 avg, .395 obp, and .563 slg.
 

Fox318

Member
I don't know why this is becoming such a huge deal now as the fact that he bet as a manager is so much worse. Heh had much more potential control over a game as a manager than as a player.

That said, he should be in the hall of fame. Even if you do it quietly without any fanfare or ceremony. Just put on his plaque that he was banned for life for gambling. If the hall of fame really wants to tell the history of baseball it should include everything. You can't take ghengis khan out of a history book.

because for a while people wanted him in as a player only.

This is the number 1 thing they tell players and managers not to do.

Its in every club house and post black sox its screamed at every player.
 

zychi

Banned
One of the, unfortunately, very rare times that a player gets inducted into the HoF for his defensive ability instead of just gaudy offensive numbers and you seriously want to hold it against them?

Of course I am. If we're keeping the best hitters out of baseball because of off field incidents, we need to go through the guys who are in and were mediocre.

Ozzie Smith did the same thing.
Aparicio

Nevermind a guy like Jim Bunning, who never threw in the postseason is in there.

It's a joke of a HOF and has been for years. The holier than thou attitude is pathetic. Millions of people have played the sport, yet the all time hit leader is out because he bet on some games?

Bobby Cox made it after hitting his wife.
Kirby Puckett had a restraining order put against him, and lost his job with the Twins for groping a woman.

Class acts in the HOF.
 

terrisus

Member
Seems like people keep ignoring Ninja Scooter and Albatross when they point out why betting on yourself is bad.

There are plenty of people just reading the topic title, and maybe the OP, and then tossing their two cents in without reading anything else.

On the other hand, that's kind of par for the course for many threads on GAF.
 
Yeah, he ain't never gettin' in the Hall now.

Just in April of this year he was still swearing up and down that he never bet on baseball as a player.
 

Kaladin

Member
There are plenty of people just reading the topic title, and maybe the OP, and then tossing their two cents in without reading anything else.

On the other hand, that's kind of par for the course for many threads on GAF.

A non-community thread has to get through the first 200 posts or so to get past the initial reactions phase and into the discussion page.
 
Of course I am. If we're keeping the best hitters out of baseball because of off field incidents, we need to go through the guys who are in and were mediocre.

Ozzie Smith did the same thing.
Aparicio

Nevermind a guy like Jim Bunning, who never threw in the postseason is in there.

It's a joke of a HOF and has been for years. The holier than thou attitude is pathetic. Millions of people have played the sport, yet the all time hit leader is out because he bet on some games?

Bobby Cox made it after hitting his wife.
Kirby Puckett had a restraining order put against him, and lost his job with the Twins for groping a woman.

Class acts in the HOF.

Look, if you want to bring up people in the Hall that also have black ethical marks on them then fine, but attacking players that got in because of defense or never being in the postseason (Especially for a player that spent almost his entire career during a period when the only postseason was the World Series and with the Reserve Clause still in effect) is ridiculous. It is not the Hall of Amazing Hitters and Pitchers That Had a Lot of Postseason Experience.
 

Trey

Member
I don't know why this is becoming such a huge deal now as the fact that he bet as a manager is so much worse. Heh had much more potential control over a game as a manager than as a player.

That said, he should be in the hall of fame. Even if you do it quietly without any fanfare or ceremony. Just put on his plaque that he was banned for life for gambling. If the hall of fame really wants to tell the history of baseball it should include everything. You can't take ghengis khan out of a history book.

Then it stops being the Hall of Fame and becomes the Hall of notable shit that happened in baseball. There's that pesky honor component to the whole deal, and these writers are tight about that.
 

terrisus

Member
Then it stops being the Hall of Fame and becomes the Hall of notable shit that happened in baseball.

And, to be fair, Pete Rose is in there for a bunch of the "notable shit that" he did.
He just doesn't have a plaque in the gallery.
 
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