In 1919 the Chicago "Black" Sox, led by "Shoeless" Joe Jackson met the Cincinnati Reds in the World Series of Baseball. The Reds took the then best of 9 series in 8 games. The upset was said to be a big shock, but the biggest of shocks would come a year later as 8 of the White Sox players were accused of throwing the series (taking money to lose on purpose). The players were acquitted of the charges because of some "faulty evidence." Baseball saw fit to punish them differently and banned all 8 of the men from the game forever. The 8 men included Joe Jackson (for more on the scandal see the movie Eight Men Out). Joe Jackson was a .356 lifetime hitter with 1,772 hits in just 8 full season of baseball, 4 of those seasons included 200 or more hits. He struck out just 158 times in almost 5000 career at bats. Some guys strike out more than that in a season these days.
Pete Rose, also known as "Charlie Hustle", was without a doubt one of the greatest hitters to ever play the game of baseball. A member of the Big Red Machine, he led the Cincinnati Reds to Three World Series Championships, winning his own MVP and being named to 17 All-Star games, in what turned out to be an illustrious career. In 1989 he was also permanently banned from baseball amidst accusations that he had gambled on games that he was involved in.
Shortly after Pete Rose's ban the commissioner voted that all players who had been determined "permanently ineligible" would also not be eligible for the Hall of Fame. This my friends is absurd. The fact that these two men do not have a place in Cooperstown is more of a disgrace then the "Steroid Era."
Jackson is not eligible because he "threw the World Series." While he admitted that he did take the money, there is no proof that he threw the series. Seriously I encourage you to find it and prove me wrong. I bet I can find the proof that he didn't. In fact here it is. First of all he hit .375 in the series. That was good enough for the best average out of any player who played more than 4 games in the series (Joe played all 8). Joe didn't commit an error in the series. Joe hit the only home run of the series. 1/3 of Joe's hits in the series went or extra bases (4:12). Go ahead and find me proof that he didn't play his best in those 8 games. All you can prove is that he took the money. Hm, a player getting extra money because he played well. I think we have a word for that these days. Endorsement maybe? It's okay for Nike to sign a guy to a contract after he wins and MVP award but because a guy took money from a gambler and then played great that not okay? Doesn't seem right to me. If that's the case then any player who has ever accepted money from a source outside the league for how well they play should not be allowed into the hall of fame.
Pete Rose is not eligible for the Hall of Fame because he "bet on baseball." What most people don't know is that Rose bet on his OWN team to WIN. How is that harming the team? How is that "cheating" the game of baseball? To me that says something about a man. he had the confidence and trust in himself and his teammates, to put his own money on the line, and bet that his team would go out and perform day in and day out. Is that not the same thing as a guy going out and publicly guaranteeing victory the day before a big game? The only difference is Pete Rose got paid for doing in it. In my opinion that was just a wise investment by Rose. He knew they were good, and he knew that he was going to do everything in his power to win ballgames. Wouldn't you bet on yourself too?
If you're going to keep two of the greatest baseball players of all time out of the Hall of Fame, then the same must be done with the steroid users. Those guys cheated the game. Those guys cheated the fans. And for the most part, unlike Jackson, its been proven. These guys hurt the integrity of the game. Jackson made a crappy series (because of the other 7 players) go 8 games and got a 10,000 dollar bonus for it. Rose got paid because his team won. Don't get me wrong what they did was selfish, but in no way did they cheat or do anything to hurt the game. LET THEM IN.
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