Pete Rose's death on Monday reignited the debate over whether he should be removed from MLB's ineligible list and somehow inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Former MLB commissioner Fay Vincent helped agree to place the former Cincinnati Reds manager on the exempt list. Vincent was deputy chief at the time. After Mr. Vincent took over the job after Mr. Bert Giamatti's death, Mr. Rose applied for reinstatement, but he did not respond. Rose's request for reinstatement was not accepted.
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MLB Commissioner Fay Vincent speaks to reporters before the 1991 MLB All-Star Game at the SkyDome in Toronto, July 9, 1991. (RVR Photo-USA TODAY Sports)
Vincent, now 86, spoke about Rose's career. The Athletic After Rose's death is revealed.
“I think he was dedicated to baseball in the sense of the game, and his effort was certainly intense,” Vincent told the magazine. “He had a series of issues with his standards of conduct. He made some mistakes along the way, but by the time I got to know him and Bart and I dealt with him on betting issues. It was really too late.
“So he was forming his attitude and his personality. And I think he really thought money was very important. He bet a lot of money and lost a lot of money. And I think it was because of the corruption issues in his life that were serious. ”
Legendary sportscaster Jim Gray remembers MLB great Pete Rose
Pete Rose (number 14) of the Montreal Expos celebrates his 4,000th career hit with his teammates during a game against the Philadelphia Phillies on April 13, 1984 at Olympic Stadium in Montreal. (Ron Pauling/Canadian Press, via AP, File)
Vincent acknowledged that Rose's death “made it easier” for him to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, especially with the introduction of gambling into the sports world. But he made his case clear about whether he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.
“Do you think he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame? I don't think people like him who are complicit in the corruption of the game belong in the Hall of Fame,” Vincent said. “I think there should be a moral dimension to honors. Otherwise, we have to have an honor ceremony in the prison garden. To honor in the prison garden, we have to hold prisoners in solitary confinement. I don't think that's a good thing. ”
He added that if Rose had come clean from the beginning, admitted wrongdoing and worked to prevent young people from participating in baseball gambling, he probably would have been elected a while ago.
Former Philadelphia Phillies player Pete Rose waves to fans during the reunion in Philadelphia on August 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
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Despite being a three-time World Series champion and MLB's all-time hitting leader, Rose remained on the ineligible list.
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