In sports culture, there is a characteristic of incorporating the actions of the actors, be it owners, managers, coaches, players or umpires, from beyond the field into the way they are viewed within the context of their work. In this way, narratives are established; there are champions and chumps, heroes and villains, Davids and Goliaths. But what happens when actions and behaviors from beyond the game begin to creep in and have a material effect on the outcomes and performances in the field, when the trust and belief that the game is occurring in good faith is infringed? Is it then possible to build back up the barriers that are separated by the chalk lines and by the Kentucky bluegrass? What can we tolerate? What do we need to know in order to believe? These are the challenges and questions in the now nearly thirty-year-long saga that is Pete Rose and his quest for truth, recognition, and redemption, to allow his star that by any objective measure shines one of the brightest in the history of the game to be seen and gazed upon; to have his name in the record books, to have his legacy enshrined and codified for all time.
Peter Edward Rose is considered one of the greatest players in the history of baseball, and certainly the greatest to never be inducted into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. In terms of on-field performance, there are few whose resumes can rival those of Rose as a 17x All-Star, 3x Word Series Champion, 2x Gold Glove Award Winner, Most Valuable Player, Silver Slugger, Rookie of the Year, and World Series MVP. In addition, Rose to this day still holds seventeen major league records including having 4,256 career hits (1st all time), 3562 games played (1st), 14,053 AB (1st), 2,165 runs scored (6th), and hitting 746 doubles (2nd). As a player, Rose was known and beloved for his aggressive play, earning the nickname “Charlie Hustle.” He was a character, thought of as a loud-mouthed, rambunctious, and at times reckless individual, who was in many ways a larger-than-life figure on the great “Big Red Machine” Cincinnati Reds teams of the 1970s. He was a hometown favorite, having been born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and evoked strong emotion for swagger and performance both on and off the field.
However for Rose his two worlds clashed in a tumultuous and public way. In 1989, the Dowd commission, launched by Commissioner Bart Giamatti determined that Rose was associated with gamblers, and had bet on games that he had both played and managed in, a cardinal sin of the game. Because of his illicit actions, Giamatti made the extremely difficult, but ultimately correct decision to banish Rose from the game, and subsequently bar him from the Hall of Fame.
One of the defining elements of baseball’s rich history is the tenant that there is no place for gambling in the game. Ever since Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis was named the first commissioner of baseball in 1920 and issued the ruling banning the players associated with the 1919 Black Sox scandal, he drew a line that was never again to be crossed. Over the history of the game, thirty-one individuals have been banned, twenty of whom were for gambling or being associated with gamblers. In fact, both Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays were banned (although later reinstated two years later) for taking positions as greeters at a casino in Atlantic City. The mere fact that they would even associate with the gambling community was enough to warrant their banishment, despite being two of the most renowned players in the history of the game. Unlike Mays and Mantle, who did nothing to actually violate any of the rules of baseball, Rose did bet on baseball and lied to cover it up. Rose’s case shows that he should not be exempt from punishment for the more egregious crime just because of his on-field performance. There is no clearer case of having one’s actions off the field alter the trust that what took place between the lines was on the up and up.
The Baseball Writers Association of America, the body responsible for voting on the individuals who they deem worthy of being enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown has a number of criteria to determine who should get in. One of the BBWAA election rules clearly states, “Voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.” Rose’s actions betting on baseball were a clear-cut breech of the integrity of the game, and are in direct violation of the guidelines set forth to gain admission to the hall.
For his part, Rose vehemently denied that he bet on the game for over two decades, before reversing his tune in 2004 two days after the Hall of Fame class was announced, an act that was believed in large part a publicity stunt to sell his book My Prison Without Bars. Rose thrust himself in the limelight in an attempt to build buzz about his circumstances amongst the writers and fans, and to see his goals of being reinstated to baseball, and gain admission to the Hall could potentially come to fruition.
Ultimately, Rose’s actions surrounding his admission of guilt that he had committed one of the unforgivable sins of the game, and his subsequent manner of conduct associated with his admission did very little to positively rectify the situation. Through his actions, he attempted to put himself above the game of baseball, and relied on his superstar celebrity status as a player to earn readmission to back into good graces of the baseball community. In gambling on games, Rose also violated one of baseball’s tenants of fair play and equal opportunity for all.
Pete Rose’s actions made people question the integrity of the game, a fact that Giamatti addressed in his statement regarding Rose’s banishment, saying “I believe baseball is a beautiful and exciting game, loved by millions – I among them – and I believe that baseball is an important enduring American institution. It must assert and aspire to the highest principles of integrity, of professionalism of performance, of fair play within its rules.” Giamatti’s background was rooted in academia, and his words and actions often reflected an “ivory tower” idealism that was an antithetical foil to Rose’s gritty, blue collar disposition. Giamatti felt that in his position, it was of the utmost importance to uphold the standards that Landis set as the first commissioner in protecting the integrity of the game, saying, “If one is responsible for protecting the integrity of the game of baseball – that is the game’s authenticity, honesty and coherence – then the process one uses to protect the integrity of baseball must itself embody that integrity.” In his novel Collision at Home Plate: The Lives of Pete Rose and Bart Giamatti, author James Reston summarizes it simply that, “For Giamatti, the whole episode had been about two things: living by the rules, and taking responsibility for one’s actions” and he sought to return faith of the American people to the game.
Rose serves as a tragic fallen hero who will not be forgotten into the history of the game. His absence from the Hall of Fame serves as a cautionary tale, that no one individual is larger than the honor and integrity that baseball seeks to uphold. Much like Shoeless Joe Jackson, another star expelled from baseball, his story will reverberate as a folktale in the annals of the game’s history. Rose’s actions represent a betrayal of the trust that fans have in the sport, in upholding the authenticity the game offers. Even though he claimed he never bet against his own team, or acted in a manner to compromise their performance, his actions violated the fairness and equality that is deeply rooted in baseball’s culture. By lying about his actions, and then attempting to profiteer from a disingenuous admission, far, far too late, he did very little to come across as repentant for his misdeeds. Baseball’s history is marked by redemption stories, of fallen stars that worked they way back to the mountaintop. These stories dictate that there is a path to recovery and absolution, that actions outside the lines can recapture former glory, that words and deeds outside the game can take away, but can give back with due process and respect. Pete Rose’s felonious actions directly led to his banishment from the game, and his subsequent refusal to pay the piper means that for now he will remain on the outside looking in. Rose’s story teaches the valuable lesson that in baseball, as in life, you must live with the consequences of your words and deeds.