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When MLB commissioner Rob Manfred removed Pete Rose and others from the permanently ineligible list, giving them a pathway to the Hall of Fame, there was no doubt an immense amount of debate on the issue. With some considering the move to remove Rose from the list as a “dark day for baseball,” baseball columnist Bob Nightengale would throw some water on the hopes of the former Cincinnati Reds player getting into the Hall.
In Nightengale's latest column for USA Today, he would say it's a “long shot” that Rose will be voted into the Hall of Fame in 2027 due to the precedent that it will set. He argues that with such controversial players as Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens receiving few votes, who are legendary players statistically, but both have controversies involving steroids, Rose would follow in the same suit due to his gambling.
“Contrary to popular belief, it’s a long shot that Pete Rose will be elected into the Hall of Fame when he’s first eligible in 2027,” Nightengale said. “You don’t have to look back any further than the ballot two years ago when Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens didn’t even receive four of the required 12 votes needed by the 16-person committee in December 2022. Yet, despite never being suspended, fined, or testing positive for PED use, they didn’t come close to election.”
“Do you really think that Rose,” Nightengale continued, “who committed baseball’s cardinal sin of gambling and lied about it for 15 years, will be suddenly forgiven by the executives, Hall of Fame players, writers and historians on the committee when they quickly dismissed baseball’s all-time home run king and a seven-time Cy Young winner?”
Pete Rose Hall of Fame induction would set a precedent
With many joining the debate on whether Pete Rose should be in the Hall of Fame, there's no doubt he makes a strong case for it due to his long, productive career, mostly with the Reds, as he leads MLB history with 4,256 hits.
However, if he were to get voted in with his gambling history, which the league takes super seriously, there would be many eyebrows raised as to why such names as Bonds, Clemens, and even others like Sammy Sosa and Alex Rodriguez shouldn't be in, as Nightengale says.
“The voters realize that if Rose is let into Cooperstown, there will be no compelling reason to keep out Bonds, Clemens, and Sammy Sosa, or even Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez, who were suspended for steroid use,” Nightengale said. “If you can allow managers who bet on baseball and players (Shoeless Joe Jackson) who took money from mobsters to throw games, what’s a little PED use?”
“Remember, the Hall of Fame instructs voters to base their choices ‘upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, and contribution to the team(s) on which the player played,'” Nightengale continued. “When the Hall of Fame hears that it can’t be a true museum of history without baseball’s all-time hit king, their officials point out there are 31 artifacts from Rose already in the Hall of Fame – so his story is already being without his induction.”
It remains to be seen what the voters will decide to do in regards to Rose.
