It has come up again that the baseball powers that be are once again considering if they should allow Pete Rose into the baseball hall of fame.
Sorry Pete you blew it. A big fat no. You aren’t the only one guilty of your crime but you got caught. No it’s not fair but you got caught betting on your own team. While you say it was only to win, how do we know that for sure.
That said if they are going to consider Pete Rose, then lets hear the argument for Buck Weaver before Pete gets his day. 1919 Black Sox player. Didn’t take a dime, played better ball in the series than he had that season, no errors in the entire series. Banned for life because he may have been aware of the fix on the series for the Sox to throw the series.
Weaver appealed through out his life to no avail. Baseball has turned it’s back on this player. Now everyone says Shoeless Joe Jackson, Weaver’s teammate, should be considered out of the 8 players banned for life, simply because he was a better known player. Well that may be so, however Jackson took money, while he played well in the series, he didn’t play outstanding ball, Weaver did, and he took money and was in on the fix, Weaver was not and did not take a dime.
Weaver did not, but he is out for life.
Weaver also as the baseball commission critiques did not tell the team owner.
Lets face it the need for a commissioner of baseball then and now was and is not mainly due to player corruption it was and is due to owner corruption. Weaver didn’t tell the owners because they were more likely than not in on the fix as well. This has only been slightly looked into and was largely ignored by the commission because they did not want to kill off baseball and an investigation into team owners would have meant just that very thing. Just like now they focus on corruption is on the players and not the owner who profit more then and now than the players.
Weaver is only one player but deserves better if they are considering Rose and the slew of steroid users of today.
The hall of fame and the record book of baseball is so messed up anymore starting with the extension of the season causing Roger Maris, the original player breaking of the single season homerun record to contain an asterisk by his record.
Now we have the steroids, corruption, gambling and all sorts of other problems have infected every team. The sport is utterly corrupt. I’m sure there a good players who don’t break the rules and play for the joy of the game.
Boo hiss me all you want. Pete Rose does not deserve to be in the hall of fame. For the most part sadly all the corrupt players have really made it very nearly necessary to disallow any current player or any player from about 1990 on from being allowed into the hall of fame and the record book be stopped until the players and owners can clean up the sport.
I understand these teams are businesses that need to fill seats to make money or break even. The way to do that is to win, to sell the seats. However it has become a win at all costs mentality in the arena of professional sport and even to some amateur levels. The owners and players have done just that and the purity of any professional sport not just baseball is gone.
If that is the case then the question becomes has the level of professional sport business evolved beyond the team and the true spirit of the competition for competitions sake and there is no way to elevate players into a level above others as truly great because it’s a job and a business and not a game anymore.
Don’t we want the have a bit of purity in the games now. Who cares who wins but how was the game played. Which in my opinion is why anyone wants celebrate the great players and heroes of any game by placing them in the Hall of Fame is because they played well win or loose and loved the game for the sake of competition not because they get a 4 million dollar bonus for making it to the post season.
Just my thoughts
Have a great day and play nice in the neighborhood.
Ciao,
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