Pete Rose

It was the kind of game that fans in 2010 have seen many times.

New York's most beloved team, the New York Mets, a last place team on Sept. 1 and the Cincinnati Reds were playing the first game of the 1973 National League playoffs at Riverfront Stadium.

Tom Seaver, the league's best pitcher who had been nursing a "tired" arm for almost one month, was opposed by the Reds' Jack Billingham, who had been ill the day before and told the press that he was probably dehydrated.

Mr. Darcy Fournier

The debate about Pete Rose and his eligibility for placement in the Hall of Fame is well documented, with passionate arguments for and against his induction.

I am not a "fan” of Pete Rose. However, I am not oblivious to his contributions to the game, and the poor choices he made along the way.

I am equally not oblivious to the political football this has become, and how poorly this has been handled by just about everyone, Rose included.

The Reds have been given permission to recognize the 25th anniversary of Pete Rose breaking Ty Cobb's all-time hits record.  Rose recorded his 4,192nd hit on September 11, 1985.  

Major League Baseball has tried to make Rose a ghost in Cincinnati and throughout baseball.  The Reds sell jerseys with "Bench—5", "Morgan—8" and "Perez—24" on the back.  However, the "14" jersey that is sold in the team shop is without a name.

Former pitching great Roger Clemens has been indicted by a grand jury for lying under oath and not admitting that he used performance-enhancing drugs.

But Clemens, if guilty, would certainly not be the only baseball player to present false truths to the public. The fact that it was done while under oath during grand jury testimony is what makes it so reprehensible and a potential crime, but still, that doesn't make the other nine of these lies any less damaging.

I want you to ask yourself this, what Major League Baseball players deserve to be in the Baseball Hall of Fame? Does Pete Rose deserve to be in the Hall of Fame? How about Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, or Roger Clemens? Maybe even one day New York Yankess third baseman Alex Rodriguez, who is on the eve of hitting home run No. 600?

While watching Hall of Fame outfielder Andre Dawson give his speech after his induction into Cooperstown on Sunday, he said some things that struck a chord with me and became the inspiration for this article.

Within the last 20 years, hundreds of articles have been written about Pete Rose's ban from baseball, so I will spare you what has all ready been said. Instead, I'd like to touch more on the effects of his punishment as opposed to the actions that warranted it.

The court of public opinion maintains that the time has come to reinstate him—and I agree, as far as the Hall of Fame goes.

Banning Rose from baseball not only penalizes the man himself, it hurts the sport and denies fans the opportunity to see one of the game's greatest heroes.

2010 is the first year since 1959 that Pete Rose or Pete Rose Jr. hasn’t either played or managed in a baseball game.

That is impressive that a father and son have worn a professional baseball uniform for 50 years. Pete Rose Sr. may have played the game better, but they both had a burning desire to play baseball.

Pete Rose Jr. is not playing organized baseball for the first time since 1989. He made his only appearance in the major leagues for the Cincinnati Reds in 1997, playing in 11 games and making 16 plate appearances while hitting .143.

Surprise! Pete Rose is back in the news.

Apparently, there is a collector who has x-rayed one of Rose's old bats. He has discovered that the bat has something in it that may be cork or a similar substance. He even has some evidence that the bat was used in a game.

This is not really news, as a 2001 Vanity Fair article made the same allegations.

Here is why we should not care.

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Derek Jeter is a first ballot Hall Of Famer. There is no evidence that Jeter is even interested in the hit record. However, if he averages 188 hits per season for the next nine seasons (including this one), he can pull it off.

Jeter is ahead of Rose's pace now. It would be fun to watch someone challenge a great record like this. It also would be nice if the hit king was eligible to be inducted into the Hall Of Fame.

Here is why it won't happen.

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Every spring, there are a handful of questions that each team faces and must resolve before the start of the regular season.

Often these questions revolve around how to set the lineup and many times start with who will be the team's leadoff hitter.

For the teams that had the 10 guys that follow on this list, that was never an issue, as you could pencil them in atop the lineup and count on them to be a catalyst for your team.

I have chosen who i feel are the top 10 leadoff hitters in baseball history.