Rose's Confession Doesn't Change a Thing

From where they love him most, Pete Rose's confession wins no sympathy. If anything I think Cincinnati feels betrayed.



From Rose's confession doesn't change a thing:



However muddled Pete Rose's case has become, eligibility for the Hall of Fame is a different issue from eligibility to manage a team. Two years after his banishment, baseball adopted a special rule to make sure Rose, who holds 32 records from his playing career, could not be inducted into the Hall of Fame. That's dubious, retroactive punishment. Rose was a great player on the field. His last chance to appear on the writers' ballot is December 2005. He belongs on that ballot. The traditional ticket to the Hall of Fame all along has been the vote by the baseball writers. The decision on whether Rose belongs in the Hall ought to be left up to the baseball writers.



His gambling will never erase what he did on the field. And putting him in the Hall will never erase the shame he brought on himself and the game he loved.