Thursday, March 6, 2003
By Rob Parker / The Detroit News
LAKELAND, Fla.--If the news that Pete Rose could be reinstated by baseball as soon as June 1 concerns you, you're not alone.
Hall of Famer Al Kaline is with you.
Kaline isn't against Rose getting a pardon from baseball for his gambling ills -- although he's not for it, either -- but he said he thinks baseball could be setting itself up for trouble with past and future players.
"That's the one thing," said Kaline, who was at Joker Marchant Stadium on Wednesday. "By doing it, you open a can of worms.
"If you do something for one person, you have to go back and say well maybe somebody else should be in, too."
Such as Shoeless Joe Jackson, who was banned from baseball after the Chicago Black Sox scandal in 1919.
Worse, as Kaline points out, is what will baseball do if a current superstar is caught gambling on the game?
"How do you say, 'Well, you can't play, you're out of the game?' " Kaline said.
Just like one of his throws from right field, Kaline is on the money.
Baseball's integrity is bigger than any commissioner, owner or player. It's what separates baseball from pro wrestling.
"You have to think very seriously about the integrity of the game," Kaline said. "It's the most important thing. You can't have fans in the stands thinking that maybe somebody might have done this or done that."
And when fans aren't sure what's happening on the field is real, not scripted or faked, you no longer have a sport. You have entertainment.
"Our sport, any sport, can't have it," Kaline said. "If someone strikes out with the bases loaded, somebody will say he was betting on the game, stupid things like that. You can't have people thinking that way."
Nonetheless, it appears baseball will turn its head and give Rose the ultimate pass. According to a USA TODAY story Wednesday, Rose could be reinstated by Commissioner Bud Selig in three months and be eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2005. Among the conditions for Rose's reinstatement is an admission that he bet on baseball and the Cincinnati Reds while managing that team.
Originally, Rose received, and accepted, a lifetime ban from baseball in August 1989 after being investigated for gambling -- baseball's cardinal sin. Every clubhouse has a huge sign in it saying a player would face banishment for gambling.
The big question is, why is baseball ready to welcome Charlie Hustle back -- now?
"The only thing I can think about is that our commissioner is thinking about leaving," Kaline said, "and he might want to do something popular so that his stay in baseball looks like a big success."
If this were just about statistics, Rose would be a shoo-in for the Hall. He is baseball's career leader in hits (4,256). That's why most fans, at least judging by the results of polls over the years, believe Rose should be in the Hall of Fame regardless of anything he did as a manager.
"There's no question that Pete belongs in the Hall based on numbers," Kaline said. "You can name five guys that have to be in the Hall of Fame, and he would be one. It all gets back to the fact that this game should never be questioned about its integrity."
That would be impossible with Rose back in it.
Rob Parker's column appears Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. You can reach him at
rparker@detnews.com.