The Rant

Pete Rose should be let into the Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame is not about what you have done in the sport you are playing, not your life outside of it. If you want to base it around other problems, then you may as well go back into all the sports halls, and re-evaluate half the people in, because almost of them had other problems. He was one of the best baseball players to ever live, he is the hit king, Mr. Hustle. He is one of the only ones left from that time period. What else can you ask for, this man should be in the Hall of Fame without a doubt, and it is really not fair that he isn't in. Baseball should really wake up, and realize what they're doing before its too late.

What do experts say?

A-lot of people have their own say on this topic, but there are three very important ones that really show that Pete Rose should be admitted into the Hall of Fame. The first quotation is, " Lee admitted that he disliked Rose, saying that he was a pain in the ass, but he was the greatest two strike hitter he ever saw...He should most definitely. He's got the numbers. He's the kind of guy you hate, but if you were putting together a team, you'd draft him. This was said by Bill Lee, who was a former Red Sox Pitcher, and it shows how another pitcher is talking very highly about him, and is saying why he should be in the Hall. The next quotation is, "I like Pete Rose, nobody played the game harder than him. Pete Rose had and has a problem, and that's not gambling. If he had looked into the camera and said, "I made a mistake, I ask for forgiveness, he's be in the Hall of Fame today." That was said by Steve Garney, who was a 3 time all American league Cy-Young Award Winner, and a Hall of Fame inductee. In that quote, he is saying how great of a player Pete Rose, and is also telling what he would have to do, but that's not the way he wants to do it, but it is coming from a very successful player. The last quotation is this, "Finally, my friend and Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt got frustrated by watching me wear out of the carpet, and offered some words of encouragement, "Look at all those photos, Pete just about every Hall of Famer in baseball in hanging on those walls and Pete Rose has more hits than any of them. Mantle is dead, Robinson is dead...Your one of the last men standing from the old regiment." That quote was said by Mike Schmidt, who is also a Hall of Famer, and a very god friend of Pete's, and he is telling everyone that Pete is one of the last great athletes you got, and he should be in the Hall along with everyone else.

2nd strongest arguement

My second strongest argument is that people in other sports that are in the hall of fame. or even recognized for something else, have committed something similar or worse then gambling, and that did not effect them. Pete Rose couldn't have put it any better, he said that people have family problems, beat their wives, deal with alcohol abuse, murder, crime, etc. Now they are recognized as great ahtletes, and people know of their problems, but they all had happened mostly a while after their career. If Pete Rose hadn't gambled during his career, this situation would be nothing like it is now. People really have to wake up and realize all the other things going on in the world around us, and a man gambling on a sport shoudn't hold him back from the hall, especially because of how great of an athlete he was.

1st Strongest Arguement

My first stongest arguement is that Pete Rose deserves to be in the Hall of Fame because baseball is a game about statistics, and not what you do outside of the game. People should not get on his case about this. I believe if this incident had occured about 15-20 years ago, it wouldnt be as much of a big deal as people are making it. He has the support of many people, and some of them have even played baseball, and are in the hall themselves. This really shouldnt be the deciding factor on whether or not he should be in the hall of fame, which leads to my next arguement.

My Side

My side in this argument is the pro side. I have selected this position for a few reasons. First off the game of baseball is based around your statistics. Who cares what he did off the field, he showed that he had the heart and the determination to be in the Hall of Fame. The next thing is, other people in the hall had other problems, no matter what sport it was, and all of them are worse then gambling, but who cares. What happened if he gambled while he was in the hall, would they throw him out...exactly. He has gotten much support from writers, friends, players,and fans all over, but at the same time he has taken enough criticism to show he doesn't belong, that's the only problem. But people have to look past that and realize its not all about what they think, and they should really cut this man a break because he was one of the best to play, and truly deserves it.

Con side

Ok, we have now got the whole situation down, and the pro side to it, so whats the con side. Well its pretty simple, Pete Rose shall not be admitted to the Hall of Fame due to his gambling problems. The whole start to this mayhem is because Pete Rose was caught gambling during his managerial career. Now, this made a huge conflict in both the sports, and the everyday world. The stir caused people to start thinking, should we let this man in the hall of fame? He was just caught gambling on the sport that he played, and became great at. Is that really the right thing to do, I mean you got all these fans behind you during and after your career, and you repay them by showing them you want to gamble. You don't see other hall of famers doing this, do you? Some of them may have some problems, but you cannot do that to your team, your friends, and most importantly, your fans.

Pro Side

Ok. he may have gambled, but why can he not be admitted to the Hall of Fame. Well, if you really think about it, this should not be the one thing holding him back from being in the hall of fame. i mean, if you look at some of the people in the hall of fame, just look at some of the problems that they have had, it could be from the problems with heir wives, to problems with drugs, etc. So the question here is, why cant people look at them and say, oh he shouldn't be in the hall of fame because he did this, why does Pete Rose have to be singled out and have a big controversy about gambling.
Yes, he gambled, but say he gambled while he was in the Hall of Fame, would that have made a big difference? I guarantee there are plenty of people in all sports that are in the Hall of Fame and recognized as great athletes, and still have certain problems that they have to deal with. I thought that the Hall of Fame had to do on how your statics, and how you did during your pro career, not what went on in your outside life.