Pete Rose belongs in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Alex Rodriguez deserves a lifetime suspension. So why is it that Rose is banned for life and Rodriguez gets a "slap on the wrist" with his one-year suspension?
Rose, a three-time batting champion and baseball's all-time hits leader, was effectively banned from Major League Baseball for betting on the game as a manager in 1989. He admitted to betting on his own team, the Cincinnati Reds, but claimed to never bet against them. In 1991, the Baseball Hall of Fame agreed to ban Rose, as well as other ballplayers listed as "permanently ineligible."
Betting on baseball is a cardinal sin within the game. That has been well understood since Commissioner Landis banned eight members of the 1919 Chicago White Sox for throwing the World Series. Shoeless Joe Jackson, a career .356 hitter in 13 Major League seasons, was among the eight players banned. He would've easily made the Hall of Fame had it not been for the 1919 World Series incident.
However Rose's gambling never affected the outcome of a game. He never bet against his team and there is no proof he was gambling during his playing career. Therefore, it's idiotic to punish a man when there is nothing to tarnish his name. Pete Rose is being punished for betting on baseball. If that's the case, baseball may as well ban the entire state of Nevada from attending games. Rose bet on baseball. He never used drugs.
Alex Rodriguez used drugs. Rodriguez lied about using drugs. Rodriguez then admitted to using drugs and promised never to use them again.
"Back then, baseball was a different culture," Rodriguez told Peter Gammons in a 2009 interview. "It was very loose. I was young. I was stupid. I was naive. And I wanted to prove to everyone that I was worth being one of the greatest players of all time. I did take a banned substance. And for that, I am very sorry and deeply regretful."
I guess "sorry" doesn't last forever in the mind of Alex Rodriguez.
He lied. If Rodriguez were sorry, then his role in the Biogenesis scandal would not exist.
CBS aired a special edition of 60 Minutes last month, interviewing Anthony Bosch, the man who ran the infamous Biogenesis clinic, and Rob Manfred, the Chief Operating Officer of Major League Baseball. During the interview, Bosch revealed he first met Rodriguez in 2010 at a Miami hotel. It was a few days before Rodriguez hit his 600th career home run at Yankee Stadium.
Bosch said Rodriguez wanted to obtain performance-enhancing drugs and learn how to bypass the "system" of Major League Baseball's drug tests. Cheating and bypassing the system hardly sound like the actions of an apologetic man seeking redemption.
Bosch also stated in the interview how his life was threatened multiples times if he didn't comply with Alex Rodriguez's associates. These threats reportedly took place after Major League Baseball discovered Bosch's Biogenesis clinic. While the threats didn't come from Rodriguez himself Boesch says no associate of Rodriguez does anything without Rodriguez's consent.
What type of example is Rodriguez sending to future baseball players? By his actions, Rodirguez is showing it's OK to take drugs, cheat the system, lie about it and tarnish the legacies of others. Baseball has always been a game of honor. Steroid users, such as Rodriguez, have done nothing but destroy the foundation baseball built itself on. Baseball is the essence of hard work and fair play, where warriors compete against one another, while at the same time maintaining a level of respect for each other. Rodriguez and his steroid use is destroying the game. Rose bet on baseball, something far less destructive than drug use.
"As you know, baseball statistics are sacred," Rose told the Michael Kay show on ESPN Radio. "I had nothing to do with altering statistics of baseball, and these guys, that take PEDs...Wouldn't it be nice if you could ask Babe Ruth the same question, or Roger Maris the same question or Hank Aaron, who won't talk about it. I'd like to hear what their response will be, because those are the guys who lost their records because of supposedly steroids."
Rodriguez is supposed to be a role model for children. What type of role model takes drugs, lies about them and refuses to take fault for his actions? Rose confessed to betting on baseball in 2004. He has paid for his crimes against the game and should be allowed in the Hall of Fame. If Baseball believes Rose should still be banned, then ban him as a manager. He bet on baseball as a manager, not a player. Rose's statistics have nothing to do with his gambling. He is a better role model than Rodriguez could ever be.
Rose bet on baseball. Rodriguez took drugs, lied, cheated, apologized then repeated the cycle by lying and cheating. Rose needs to inducted into the Hall of Fame. Rodriguez needs to be banned for life. It's as simple as that.
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