Pete Rose

With Opening Day only six days away, I thought it would be appropriate to see what the record books have to say about the Cincinnati Reds on the first game of the year. At the present time, adequate records only take us back to 1952.

This game will be against the St. Louis Cardinals against whom the Reds are 8-7.

Since 1952 the Reds are 30-27-1 in their opening game. The lone tie was a 3-3 game against the Milwaukee Brewers in 2000.

Seems like every year at about this time in the season, Reds' fans and their "Pro-Pete Cooperstown" articles pop-up more than Miley Cyrus television appearances—and with equal annoyance.

Pete Rose deserves a plaque less than Billy Ripken.

Anyone who is the least bit familiar with my writings knows that to deny my love for the Cincinnati Reds is akin to a rock 'n roll fan saying, "Yeah, that John Lennon, he sorta knew how to write a song—but Miley is better."

Gambling on baseball is the game's only cardinal sin.  

No sport uses the word "purity" as much as baseball. Fans are obsessed with the idea and hold its athletes to a higher standard than the NBA, or NFL. So when a player does something to hurt the integrity of the game—outrage ensues.

Pete Rose gambled on the Reds for four plus years as the player/manager of the Reds in the late 1980's. He directly affected the outcome of the game.

Dozens of players in the late 1980's to the mid 2000's used performance-enhancing drugs as a way to stay competitive. Not every player chose to use PED's and there stats and paychecks suffer because of it.

Pete Rose has more hits than any other man who ever played professional baseball.

He finished his long career with 4,256 hits, surpassing the immortal Ty Cobb.

Derek Jeter has now played fourteen seasons with the New York Yankees and is generally recognized as one of the best players and best hitters of his era. 

I have long been intrigued thinking of the comparisons of these two men on the field.  (Off the field there is no comparison.)

Commissioner Bud Selig recently sat down with Bob Costas for an interview that aired on the MLB Network. Among the topics discussed was the possible inclusion of Pete Rose in the baseball Hall of Fame.

The topic of Rose and his possible admittance into the Hall has been one of baseball's most hotly debated issues since his lifetime suspension in 1989 by former commissioner Bart Giamatti.

Here is a glance at the Cincinnati Reds all-time greatest team lineup:

Team Name: Cincinnati Reds

Year Established: 1882

City: Cincinnati

Ballpark: Great American Ballpark

 Previous Nicknames: Red Stockings (1882-1889), Redlings (1954-1959)

League: National League

Division: NL Central

# of Playoff Appearances: 12

# of Pennants: 10

World Series Titles: 1919, 1940, 1975, 1976, 1990

All-Time Team

Catcher: Johnny Bench

First Base: Tony Perez

Sammy Sosa is the latest name to be dropped in baseball's steroid era. With so many of these people being linked to steroids, it's really no longer news when another name is dropped.

But it gets some people, like myself, thinking that these guys are not the idols and role models we thought they were. Plus, any records guys like Bonds, Sosa, McGwire, A-Rod, Clemens, and any others should not be given credit for any of the records they broke.

Immediately following his appearance on ESPN's First Take, in the midst of a 30-game hitting streak, Ryan Zimmerman proceeded to go 0-for-3 in the Washington Nationals' 6-3 win over the San Francisco Giants, thus ending his run at history.

I finally am writing about something I have believed since 2004: Pete Rose should not be allowed to be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Rose was one of the greatest baseball players to play the game. He was a pretty darn good manager, too. He had a 412-373 record for a .525 winning percentage.

He managed from 1984 to 1989, with his team finishing fifth for his first and last year and second for five years in a row.

Second.

Now listen to me—that is key to my argument.

Not only can I name five very good reasons why the man above, the greatest baseball player to ever play the game, should be sitting in baseball's Hall of Fame.

Pete Rose is the face of America's "true" baseball player.

In his career Rose had more hits, and played more games, than any other player in history. Yet he is still to this day on the outside looking in at the one thing his career needs to be complete.

As I said above, there are plenty of reasons why this man should be in the Hall.