Farewell To The Greatest Degenerate Gambler To Wear A Uniform (1 Viewer)

[chippitydoodah]

Goodbye Pete Rose

He was no doubt a Hall Of Fame player. Too bad his degenerate ways prevented him from getting in. It's a shame so many people don't understand the importance of the no betting on baseball rule and maintaining the legitimacy of the game. Rose sympathizers try to bend it by saying "he never bet on his team to lose". First of all, we don't really know that and secondly, as a manager, he knew when NOT to bet on his team if a pitcher or position player weren't 100% healthy. He was one of the greatest to ever play professional baseball and the argument for his enshrinement in Cooperstown will go on for centuries.

 

[Mojo1312]

Goodbye Pete Rose

He was no doubt a Hall Of Fame player. Too bad his degenerate ways prevented him from getting in.

Neither will McGwire, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa and A-Rod grace baseballs HOF, albeit for a different reason. Pete Rose was one of my favorite players to watch.

It still rubs me a little that he is not in the Hall of Fame.

 

[upNdown]

This is how I remember him.

 

[Highli99]

He played on Full Send, an uncommon setting then and now. His HOF ban doesn't take away from his accomplishments. We all have demons.

Pretty ironic how much betting has become part of the game and embraced by the league. I mean, the best player has a huge scandal recently and its a nothing burger somehow? I just see some hypocrisy about it all, which is standard for all major league sports.

 

[WedgeRock]

He was one of the best without a doubt.

He was also an ahole to a lot of people; it was part of what made him so competitive.

The drive to keep him out of the Hall of Fame seemed a little vindictive. I haven't seen any evidence that his betting impacted the outcome of any game.

Then again, Joe Jackson isn't in the Hall either. Lifetime band for both seems more than a little harsh.

 

[chippitydoodah]

It's very odd to hear announcers quoting the current betting lines during a baseball broadcast, but MLB is partnered with MGM Resorts and FanDuel in an effort to keep up with the NFL, mimicking them with gambling, woman broadcasters and even trying to hype the draft. It still doesn't change the fact that players aren't allowed to gamble, it's just sponsorship dollars from the billions of dollars gaming industry which is no different than insurance or credit card companies.

*It absolutely feels hypocritical

 

[Moxie Mike]

Rose sympathizers try to bend it by saying "he never bet on his team to lose."

It's much simpler than that. The bleeding heart apologists want to glaze over the fact that he in all likelihood knew the rules in real time, and was aware of the penalties. The bottom line is he got caught and paid a steep price. But the fans paid an even steeper price.

That said, I think there's a very merited argument to inducting Rose in some capacity (and others) posthumously.

Because the HoF - for better or worse is more than just a shrine to the game's best performers; above all else it's a museum.

What kind of museum doesn't chronical the game's top players from a tainted era? When it comes to McGuire, Sosa, Clemens, etc... their contribution to the game was compelling to watch even if it was saturated with PEDs. Furthermore, the effect their transgressions had on future generations of players and to some extent the game itself really shouldn't be white-washed or lost to the fog of history.

So I think the Hall should really consider an 'asterisk wing'* of the museum so future generations can experience what that time was like. I mean - think about it... no one under 30 years old has any memory of Bonds passing his godfather Willie Mays and then chasing Aaron, or the how ESPN would literally cut to Sosa and McGwire's at bats in real time. Tainted as it may have been - it was an exciting time that shouldn't be forgotten.

*No, I'm not suggesting they actually call it that.

 

[WedgeRock]

It still rubs me a little that he is not in the Hall of Fame.

If Bart Giamatti is anywhere near the Pearly Gates, I hope Pete treats him like he's blocking the plate.

 

[TheRealTeddyKGB]

Maybe I should be posting this in the Controversial Thread but wouldn't Michael Jordan be "the greatest degenerate gambler to wear a uniform?"

RIP Pete Rose

 

[BarrieJ3]

Maybe I should be posting this in the Controversial Thread but wouldn't Michael Jordan be "the greatest degenerate gambler to wear a uniform?"

RIP Pete Rose

I think you’re onto something there.

 

[demonnic]

It's very odd to hear announcers quoting the current betting lines during a baseball broadcast, but MLB is partnered with MGM Resorts and FanDuel in an effort to keep up with the NFL, mimicking them with gambling, woman broadcasters and even trying to hype the draft. It still doesn't change the fact that players aren't allowed to gamble, it's just sponsorship dollars from the billions of dollars gaming industry which is no different than insurance or credit card companies.

*It absolutely feels hypocritical

I work for Disney Streaming and when they announced they were going to integrate a betting platform into ESPN+ I had a moment of cognitive dissonance for Disney becoming a sports bookie by extension. Even if it's mostly just a brand deal.

 

[BPTDirector]

Maybe I should be posting this in the Controversial Thread but wouldn't Michael Jordan be "the greatest degenerate gambler to wear a uniform?"

RIP Pete Rose

Reference Charles Barkley, and there is no golf uniform, but Phil Mickelson.

 

[dennis63]

I think the national sports leagues (NFL ,MLB,etc.) are a bit hypocritical.

Ban one of the greatest baseball players of all time for gambling because it "corrupts the game," then partner with betting sites to let the average Joe bet on games. Does anyone think it's not possible for big money to "get to" a player to influence the outcome of a game? (My uncle was a pro football coach for more than 30 years, and told me the coaches sometimes wondered if bookies "got to" a player who suddenly had a slump or made a key mistake at the worst time.)

I remember going to Phillies games at Veteran's Stadium in Philadelphia when Pete Rose played. We'd bring in a brown paper shopping bag filled with hoagies (we never called them "subs") and frozen sodas. (You'd have to wait a few innings for them to thaw out.) We would always get seats near first base and shout out to Pete Rose.

Now, the Vet is gone. Pete is gone. Brown paper bags will get you shamed and cancelled.

Seats like those we got back in those days are now going for $1,000 and are snatched up by bots to resell on Stub Hub, so ticket scalping is legal now, too.

And the National Felon League? Looks like you'll be fine until a security camera records you beating the crap out of your girlfriend, and maybe even after that, too.

I'm betting (ironic, I know) that Taylor Swift's next "boyfriend" will be an MLB star player.

 

[BGinGA]

RIP, Charlie Hustle. One of the best ever.

 

[upNdown]

So I think the Hall should really consider an 'asterisk wing'* of the museum so future generations can experience what that time was like. I mean - think about it... no one under 30 years old has any memory of Bonds passing his godfather Willie Mays and then chasing Aaron, or the how ESPN would literally cut to Sosa and McGwire's at bats in real time. Tainted as it may have been - it was an exciting time that shouldn't be forgotten.

I'm good with that.
And can we take a moment to shit on the BBWAA? Screw those self-important assholes. William Roger Clemens was one of the greatest pitchers in history before he ever shot anything into his veins. I remember reading stories about how he trained when he was younger - Jamming his arm into a barrel of rice and riding a bicycle in the pool. This guy was one of the greatest of all time and the stuff of legends. And those baseball writers who kept him out of the hall of fame can fuck right off. Writers?

 

[upNdown]

I saw a facebook meme today that made shockingly simple sense. Rose got a lifetime ban from baseball. He has now served his sentence. Put him in the Hall.

 

[chippitydoodah]

I saw a facebook meme today that made shockingly simple sense. Rose got a lifetime ban from baseball. He has now served his sentence. Put him in the Hall.

Maybe MLB should rename it
ETERNAL BAN