Should PETE ROSE be inducted into the BASEBALL HALL OF FAME?

I couldn't stand the guy, but he was a great player and his contribution to baseball was real and not the results of steroids. Yes, he should be inducted into the Hall.

Absolutely not. You can't bet on baseball while you're involved in the outcomes of games. He knew what he was doing was wrong.

It's supposed to be based on performace on the field, as he didn't bet against his own team or throw a game, get over it.

5. Voting: Voting shall be based upon the player's record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.

From the official eligibility rules.

Then they need to cut some inductees, start with Ty Cobb.

Isn't this Hall of Fame crap also about something called "character" like maintaining standard of behaviour on and off the field that is supposed to be a positive example to the youth of the world, something highly deficient in your Mr. Cobb.

How did his behavior off the field undermine the integrity of the game? It's not enough to say he was a jerk. He was. But there are a lot of jerks in the Hall of Fame. We're talking about people whose actions ON THE FIELD undermined the game.

yes

The Hall of Fame should honor accomplishments on the field. They should induct "Shoeless" Joe Jackson as well. The Directors of the Hall can always note the controversies surrounding their careers, but what they accomplished on the field should be recognized. Ty Cobb was a known racist, but there he is in the Hall. He still has the highest lifetime batting average in the history of the game! Pete Rose has the most hits!

Cobb didn't compromise the integrity of the game, though.

That is a matter of personal opinion! Any avowed racist who tried to play today would be suspended from the game and then banned! Ty Cobb, along with many others, refused to play with African Americans. The Negro Leagues have a great history, but they existed because of men like Ty Cobb. The failure to allow African Americans to play Major Leagu Baseball for approximately 50 years "compromises the integrity of the game." I wonder if Ty Cobb's average would have been as high if he had been compelled to bat against pitchers like Satchel Paige?

I support Ty Cobb being in the Hall of Fame! He earned it despite his despicable personal life.

"Any avowed racist who tried to play today would be suspended from the game and then banned!"

Cobb played during an era where racism was far more accepted than it is today. He was a racist jerk, but so were a lot of ballplayers of the era. You can't judge a person based on our current set of morals, you have to judge them based on the morals of the time.

"The failure to allow African Americans to play Major Leagu Baseball for approximately 50 years "compromises the integrity of the game.""

THat's on the owners, not the players.

"I wonder if Ty Cobb's average would have been as high if he had been compelled to bat against pitchers like Satchel Paige? "

Probably. There were pitchers in the game that were just as good as Satchel. He did hit well over .300 against Walter Johnson and Rube Waddell, two of the greatest pitchers of his era. Sadly, we'll never know the answer to your question.

"I support Ty Cobb being in the Hall of Fame! He earned it despite his despicable personal life."

And there you have it. His PERSONAL life. Who he was OFF the field is immaterial. Rose and the Black Sox were banned for undermining the integrity of the game ON the field.

You make some good points and I know that this whole subject is very debatable. However, if somebody accomplishes greatness in a sport ( as did Pete Rose and "Shoeless" Joe), put them in the Hall for their accomplishments, do not conceal what they did and let the public decide where their place in history belongs. To deny them admission, is like denying that they ever lived! O. J. Simpson's accomplishments in Football should not be denied, even though he is a disgrace to the human race!

Well, we disagree. I think if you disgrace yourself and the game you can't ever be a part of the hall. Baseball, in particular, is a game with history stretching back 150 years. Part of the appeal of baseball is the sanctity of its statistics. If someone undermines the integrity of the game (and its statistics) I don't think they should be allowed in the Hall.

That goes for all the roided up home run bashers of the modern era. I don't think for one minute that Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire or Sammy Sosa should ever make the Hall.

That is a very different issue in my opinion. Pete Rose may have disgraced himself, but he did not disgrace the game. The extent of "Shoeless" Joe's guilt is still debated since he played so well in the 1919 World Series, but once again, to the extent that he even talked to the teammates about a possible fix, he disgraced himself and not the game. I have not made up my mind on steroids, but that is a different issue since many people debate whether the great statistics that make the players considered for the Hall, would have been there without the cheating!

"Pete Rose may have disgraced himself, but he did not disgrace the game."

We could not possibly disagree more on this. Any time that you bet on baseball games while you have any active role in determining their outcome, you have disgraced yourself and the game.

"The extent of "Shoeless" Joe's guilt is still debated since he played so well in the 1919 World Series"

That's because his ban wasn't about his performance. It was the fact that he took money from gamblers.

"but once again, to the extent that he even talked to the teammates about a possible fix, he disgraced himself and not the game."

So inviting gamblers to undermine the integrity of the game isn't disgracing the game? I don't understand your reasoning.

Who knows? You may be right and I may be wrong! However, I believe the Hall is reserved for the great. Even the flawed great! Should we elect a mediocre player to the hall, because he was active in the community, was faithful to his wife and went to church every Sunday? I think not!

No, we should elect people to the Hall who were great on the field and did nothing to undermine the game.

Absolutely yes. Selig's little vendetta is old and tired, and out of touch with the majority of MLB fans. Pete's accomplishments still stand on their own and are worthy of recognition. I don't care what he bet on, including MLB, so long as he never bet AGAINST the Reds. I would expect him to have the confidence to bet on the team he controlled to win. I really don't see a problem with that. It's never been shown he bet one way or the other on the Red's so get over it Bud.

I think he will be one day....??

I do too! I thought you might be campaigning for the Hall of Fame to admit "Shoeless" Joe Jackson! I can see the headlines: "Barefoot Supports Shoeless Joe." LOL !

Barefoot does....;)

Two people from South Carolina! One called "Barefoot" and the other called "Shoeless."

P.S. I did read a biography of him about 5 years ago! He should be in the Hall of Fame!

Lol....... I agree he should be in the Hall of Fame...;)

Another case of brilliant minds running in the same direction!

naturally.....;)

Rose is a cocky arrogant jerk who believed he was smarter and better than all the other players.He believed the rules did not apply to him. If players are allowed to bet on baseball games baseball will be lost and replaced with rackets and insincere effort will result followed by deals and schemes to rig games.

I never saw a better ballplayer, and as for his gambling, I believe him when he says he never bet against himself.

YES YES and YES again!!!!

One of our greatest players... he made huge mistake.. so what... put him in now...bark

So what if he bet on his own team. The only difference between him and everyone else is he got caught. If he hadn't lied about it for so long he might of had the ban listed. But enough is enough.

No question about it. It is a farce that the Hall of Fame has been with out the sport's all-time hits leader for as long as it has.

You can rape your mother, Kill your father. but because of the Black Sox you do not bet on Baseball. Period.

He never did anything wrong.

As wrong as he was he still was a fantastic player!!

Without a doubt

yup

Hell Yes..

He gambled, if I recall it was never on his team, how many people gamble on Sports?
ALOT

Charlie Hustle. Hell of a Catcher, Hitter, and Head- First Stealer... He was one of the last Bad Ass Players