Does Pete Rose belong in the Hall of Fame?

Washington Post

21-05-2025

Sally Jenkins did a disservice to Pete Rose in her May 15 Sports column 'Manfred joins Rose, Jackson as disgraces to baseball.'
I went to a Rookie of the Year banquet for Rose in 1963 with my father. I grew up in the southern Ohio area listening to the Cincinnati Reds game on the radio nearly every evening.
As a kid of the 1960s and early 1970s, my friends and I played baseball from early spring until fall, and many of us were strongly inspired by the work ethic that Rose displayed. He was never the most talented player in Major League Baseball, but he rose to his level of excellence through hard work. That hard work resulted in the many MLB records that he holds.
It is true that he was gambling on not only the MLB but also on his own team. But I think it's important to acknowledge that Rose has said he never bet against his own team. There was not a risk that he was throwing a game to make a gambling profit.
If he had been confirmed to be betting against his own team, that would be a more serious issue. But that was not something that any of his critics ever proved.
Rose made contributions not only to baseball but also to the millions of kids who he inspired. He deserves a place in the Hall of Fame.
Kurt Herminghausen, Farmersville, Ohio
The principled Sports column by Sally Jenkins on May 15 was absolutely right — and a much-needed response to what she accurately calls 'the ongoing American war on basic decency.'
The Major League Baseball commissioner's decision to reinstate the eligibility of disgraced former players for the baseball Hall of Fame is itself a disgrace.
Though Jenkins does not point out the other leaders of this ongoing war on basic decency, they are easily identified as the prominent politicians and billionaires who have an outsize voice in our government.
These leaders are actively trying to replace the rule of law with a system based on money, power, favors and influence.
Jenkins, on the other hand, consistently stands up for strong principles.
Dave Gribble, Haymarket
Sally Jenkins was dead wrong in her May 15 Sports column when she labeled Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred as 'weak' for lifting the lifetime ban on Pete Rose, 'Shoeless' Joe Jackson and other deceased players. Manfred showed great courage with his decision to reinstate 17 MLB players, making them eligible for Hall of Fame consideration, which was sure to be controversial and fiercely debated.
Among all the others affected by this decision, Rose has the strongest case for inclusion in the Hall of Fame. Rose has the record for the most hits (4,256) and three other batting records: at-bats (14,053), plate appearances (15,890) and singles (3,215). He also was a 17-time All-Star, won three World Series trophies as well as a league MVP and a Rookie of the Year award. Rose also holds the record for most games played (3,562) and has a lifetime batting average of .303.
Jenkins argued that Rose was a bad person unworthy of enshrinement. She called him a 'rotter,' or a thoroughly objectionable person. But let's be honest, there are many scoundrels already in the Hall of Fame. The real reason for Rose's ban from baseball had nothing to do with his character. His transgression was gambling on baseball games while he played for and managed the Cincinnati Reds — he bet on his team to win. I am sure that Manfred recognized the unfairness of banning a player for gambling when, this year alone, MLB is expected to earn $235 million from sports-betting partnerships.
Enough said. Put Rose in the Hall of Fame.
Craig W. Floyd, Alexandria
Sally Jenkins's May 15 Sports column put it perfectly. Rob Manfred has proved to be an embarrassment to baseball. Not only did the Major League Baseball commissioner bow to President Donald Trump and reinstate players such as Pete Rose and 'Shoeless' Joe Jackson to the MLB, but he also sent the message for every future ballplayer, manager and coach that it's okay to bet on your sport. This message is made even worse in the context of MLB's embrace of the sports-betting boom.
Young kids might soon visit Cooperstown, see the 17 disgraced players who are now eligible for inclusion in baseball's Hall of Fame, and say they want to be like them.
Howard Pedolsky, Rockville
I looked forward to reading Sally Jenkins's May 15 Sports column, 'Manfred joins Rose, Jackson as disgraces to baseball,' on MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred's decision to lift the Major League Baseball ineligibilities — and thus Hall of Fame bans — on Pete Rose and 16 other deceased players. But this being The Post, where columnists seem to feel compelled to inject partisan politics into almost everything, even in Dana Milbank's March 14 Friday Opinion column, 'This is the most adorable creature you might never see,' about the reproductive cycle of the spotted salamander, I wondered how long it would take her to blame President Donald Trump. Turns out, not very long.
As I flipped from the front page of the Sports section to D5, there it was in the second full paragraph: 'Of course, the dead men required the aid of a weak living commissioner, Manfred, who — shortly after a conversation with Rose's pal President Donald Trump — suddenly reversed himself on all he had previously written and believed.'
Jenkins made a powerful case for keeping the bans in place. Bringing Trump into it added nothing to that argument.
Joseph A. Capone, Oakton
Pete Rose has officially been taken off Major League Baseball's permanently ineligible list. The all-time hits leader was banned from the game of baseball on Aug. 24, 1989, after an investigation revealed that the longtime Cincinnati Reds star had placed bets while playing for and managing the team. Now, he will be posthumously eligible to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame starting in 2028.
He deserves to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame because he was one of the greatest MLB players of all time.
Paul Bacon, Hallandale Beach, Florida
Pete Rose's Hall of Fame eligibility reinstatement is a grave mistake, added to others that have already been chipping away at the game's popularity.
Apologists are saying that Rose, a convicted tax cheat who admitted to betting on baseball and even on his own team, agreed to a lifetime ban — and now he is deceased and so should be enshrined. Rose should never be in the Hall of Fame: Character matters. Major League Baseball should care about that.
It is also fitting that Rose was championed by President Donald Trump, himself a felon.
John Lewis, Wilmington
There seems to be much enthusiasm for posthumously including Pete Rose in the Baseball Hall of Fame. No doubt this removal of Rose from a list of noneligible players is at least in part a result of President Donald Trump's recent opinion that he should be eligible for that honor. Trump clearly believes that unethical or dishonorable behavior should not be disqualifying. No doubt that with baseball encouraging and even partnering with organized gambling, it would be disingenuous to ban someone for that behavior. On the other hand, gambling on a game in which you have some control should not be allowed.
This also dishonors Fay Vincent and Bart Giamatti, whose actions as commissioners of baseball were absolutely fair.
Rose does not belong in Cooperstown.
Barry H. Epstein, Silver Spring
Brian A. Cohen, in his May 17 letter, 'The Nats need new leaders,' said, 'The Nats season is all but over.'
Hold the despair, please! Yogi Berra had a point when he said, 'It ain't over til it's over.'
On May 17, when Cohen's letter was published, the Nationals' record was 20-27 (.426). By comparison, on May 17, 2019, the Nats were 18-26 (.409). Days later, on May 23, they hit bottom at 19-31. Undaunted, that team went on to win the World Series, defeating the Houston Astros in seven games.
The Nats' 2025 season is still very much in play — with their legacy now at stake. That motivator, plus the team's bedrock determination to live up to its talent, could bring another title to D.C.
Steve Horwitz, Odenton
The firing of manager Brandon Hyde notwithstanding, this season is over for the Baltimore Orioles.
The Orioles would have to play near-perfect baseball the rest of the season to have a slim chance of passing the 10 American League teams now ahead of them in the standings to be a wild card team in the playoffs.
As my Little League manager once told my team: 'It ain't happening for us, boys. Maybe we'll be better next year.'
Mel Tansill, Catonsville