For Pete's sake
- Thread starter aristotle
- Start date
There's already that, in a way. Ferguson Jenkins was banned from baseball in 1980, but was reinstated a year later. He retired from baseball in 1983, and was elected to the hall of Fame in 1991. He was banned because customs officials in Toronto found cocaine and pot on is person.
When Gaylord Perry was a player, he admitted that his career was successful almost solely because he threw a spitball, an illegal pitch. He cheated, and bragged about it. Gaylord Perry is int he Hall of Fame.
Baseball's Rule 5 for Hall of Fame consideration states that voting should be based on a player's "playing record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team."
Even suspected/admitted steroid users like Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens, Rafael Palmeiro, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, and others are eligible for selection, despite there being questionable integrity, character and sportsmanship issues there.
Ty Cobb was the first Hall of Famer. He is the owner of the highest lifetime batting average, at .366, a measure of professional greatness that will last as long as baseball.He also assaulted and severely beat up a physically handicapped fan who had been heckling him. He slapped a black elevator operator for being "uppity," and "insolent," and then stabbed the black night watchman who saw what was occurring and tried to intervene. Dissatisfied with a black groundskeeper who approached him and tried to shake his hand, Cobb cold-cоcked the groundskeeper, and then choked the man's wife when she came to her husband's defense. He engaged in a bar fight where the opponent later died in the hospital. He was a member of the KKK. He along with Tris Speaker was also charged with gambling on and fixing (throwing) a game between the Tigers and Indians in 1919, allowing the Indians to win. Two letters provded his guilt, but the one witness against Cobb was afraid for his life and would not honestly testify. Cobb had threatened him.
It wasn't until 1946 that the rules added "character" as part of the eligibility. If that character clause is applied to Cobb, in an ex post facto manner, he'd be removed from the Hall.
We have a "Pete Rose Rule". Why not a "Ty Cobb Rule"? How about...
"A player who reaches the minimum standard of integrity, sportsmanship and character as established by Ty Cobb, baseball's first Hall of Famer, should not be denied entry to the Baseball Hall of Fame based strictly on those categories."
Even suspected and admitted steroid users like Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens, Rafael Palmeiro, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, and others are all eligible for selection to the Hall of Fame. Pete Rose, one of the greatest baseball players ever to play the game, is not.
The point is that voters, not the commissioner, select inductees.
Some people say that if you allow Rose to be eligible, then you have to allow Shoeless Joe Jackson to be eligible. But the difference is, while Jackson kind of got a raw deal, and despite him not betting on the series himself, he did nevertheless participating in throwing the 1919 World Series. While Pete Rose has never been accused of any inappropriate behavior as a player.
What gets me, although it doesn't really surprise me, considering the players involved, is that Bud Selig said that if Pete Rose would admit to betting on baseball, contrary to no formal finding, and say that he's sorry, that Selig would consider his reinstatement to the game. Pete met those conditions, and Selig has still refused to formally consider the reinstatement, despite pleas from current and former Board members, and current Hall of Famers.
When Gaylord Perry was a player, he admitted that his career was successful almost solely because he threw a spitball, an illegal pitch. He cheated, and bragged about it. Gaylord Perry is int he Hall of Fame.
Baseball's Rule 5 for Hall of Fame consideration states that voting should be based on a player's "playing record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team."
Even suspected/admitted steroid users like Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens, Rafael Palmeiro, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, and others are eligible for selection, despite there being questionable integrity, character and sportsmanship issues there.
Ty Cobb was the first Hall of Famer. He is the owner of the highest lifetime batting average, at .366, a measure of professional greatness that will last as long as baseball.He also assaulted and severely beat up a physically handicapped fan who had been heckling him. He slapped a black elevator operator for being "uppity," and "insolent," and then stabbed the black night watchman who saw what was occurring and tried to intervene. Dissatisfied with a black groundskeeper who approached him and tried to shake his hand, Cobb cold-cоcked the groundskeeper, and then choked the man's wife when she came to her husband's defense. He engaged in a bar fight where the opponent later died in the hospital. He was a member of the KKK. He along with Tris Speaker was also charged with gambling on and fixing (throwing) a game between the Tigers and Indians in 1919, allowing the Indians to win. Two letters provded his guilt, but the one witness against Cobb was afraid for his life and would not honestly testify. Cobb had threatened him.
It wasn't until 1946 that the rules added "character" as part of the eligibility. If that character clause is applied to Cobb, in an ex post facto manner, he'd be removed from the Hall.
We have a "Pete Rose Rule". Why not a "Ty Cobb Rule"? How about...
"A player who reaches the minimum standard of integrity, sportsmanship and character as established by Ty Cobb, baseball's first Hall of Famer, should not be denied entry to the Baseball Hall of Fame based strictly on those categories."
Even suspected and admitted steroid users like Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens, Rafael Palmeiro, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, and others are all eligible for selection to the Hall of Fame. Pete Rose, one of the greatest baseball players ever to play the game, is not.
The point is that voters, not the commissioner, select inductees.
Some people say that if you allow Rose to be eligible, then you have to allow Shoeless Joe Jackson to be eligible. But the difference is, while Jackson kind of got a raw deal, and despite him not betting on the series himself, he did nevertheless participating in throwing the 1919 World Series. While Pete Rose has never been accused of any inappropriate behavior as a player.
What gets me, although it doesn't really surprise me, considering the players involved, is that Bud Selig said that if Pete Rose would admit to betting on baseball, contrary to no formal finding, and say that he's sorry, that Selig would consider his reinstatement to the game. Pete met those conditions, and Selig has still refused to formally consider the reinstatement, despite pleas from current and former Board members, and current Hall of Famers.