New Evidence - Pete Rose Bet on Baseball (& the Reds) as a Player

[TheOldRoman]

Given the salaries, I actually question that. Maybe locker room attendants that know the extent of injuries, but I don't know that a player can make it worth his while.

I'm sure there's been a handful of guys over the last few decades who bet on the game. There has to be. Luckily, gambling is something I never got in to, but I know a few people who are into it deep as a hobby. Even if they're not blowing big money on it, they have to constantly be betting. Chances are modern major leaguers aren't giving bookies tips and placing Hail Mary bets because they're half a million in the hole and Larry the Ice Pick is going to break their kneecaps, but I'm sure there are some guys whose fathers took them to the track or who otherwise got involved in gambling at a young age and just can't stop themselves. Sure, they could always bet on basketball and football, but some guys are dumb. There has to be a few who've bet on baseball. And of course, when you look at the situation like Yasiel Puig went through with the drug gang in Mexico demanding money from the Dodgers, it's not out of the question to think somewhere along the way one of the guys who was smuggled out of Cuba has given info or sat a game out because he had guys threatening to kill him.

That being said, baseball's got to be the dumbest sport on which to bet. Anyone who has watched more than a full season knows the ups an downs of the game. Hot and cold streaks. Winning 13-2 one game and losing 2-1 the next. The fact that the best teams are going to lose at least 60 games. It would be stupid to bet on any given game, even if it features the Clayton Kershaw against a spot starter who was getting crushed in AAA.

[The_Admiral]

That being said, baseball's got to be the dumbest sport on which to bet.

Hockey. You're outshooting the other team 3:2, someone slips on bad ice and a puck bounces off someone's ass, and you lose.

Anyway, Rose will never be forgiven and that's fine. If someone wants to put some Pete Rose ephemera in Cooperstown to document the fact that he existed, fine, but I wouldn't induct him as a Hall of Famer or reinstate him. No plaque, no ceremony, no retired number, no contact with teams. He was never contrite and he always lied.

[Still MIGHTY]

That being said, baseball's got to be the dumbest sport on which to bet.

That's exactly why guys that bet baseball bet multiple games or day after day. Individually might lose but if you have a winning record over a week or a month, then you can do ok.

But admiral's right, betting winners day to day on hockey is dumb. If you're betting hockey, stick to over/unders. (And more often than not, hit the under.)

[DnBronc]

Yes, he is a scumbag. He'll probably continue to lie about this for years to come.

I don't want to get completed roasted, but he was a great player. I think he deserves a spot in the Hall of Fame.

And, while he bet on baseball, I don't think that he stole championships with his gambling like the Patriots probably did with what they were doing. Rose had the book thrown at him, while NE's transgressions are swept under the rug. That isn't right.

Different sport, different transgression. What the Pats did, if they in fact did it, was equivalent to something like to the famous Pine Tar incident with George Brett or at worst Sammy Sosa's corked bat incident. The latter of which had a similar punishment.

Betting on the game like Rose did is betting on the game, it's the cardinal sin of sports crimes. And if you do it, history shows you get the book thrown at you, and continually thrown at you until you die. Shoeless Joe would attest to that as would the commissioner as his office wouldn't exist without it having happened. And it's as it should be. There is no higher crime against the game that calls the core integrity of the game into question than betting on games you're playing or managing. If Tom Brady had bet on football you can bet he'd be looking at a similar lifetime ban from football. First rule of playing professional sports is that you don't bet on professional sports.

Dude, NE may have done a whole lot more in the past 15 years than deflate footballs. I am not just focusing on that.

There are other things that they have been rumored to be linked to, like having an alternate frequency in Brady's helmet (to talk to him past the 15-second cutoff), messing with opposing coaches' head sets, putting microphones on their D-linemen to get the QB's audibles, filming in other people's locker rooms, and having people film on the sidelines with a press pass.

If they did all those things, and stole a boatload of wins (and four SB's) in the process, then what Rose did looks like child's play in comparison as far as I am concerned.

[IceCap]

Yes, he is a scumbag. He'll probably continue to lie about this for years to come.

I don't want to get completed roasted, but he was a great player. I think he deserves a spot in the Hall of Fame.

And, while he bet on baseball, I don't think that he stole championships with his gambling like the Patriots probably did with what they were doing. Rose had the book thrown at him, while NE's transgressions are swept under the rug. That isn't right.

Different sport, different transgression. What the Pats did, if they in fact did it, was equivalent to something like to the famous Pine Tar incident with George Brett or at worst Sammy Sosa's corked bat incident. The latter of which had a similar punishment.

Betting on the game like Rose did is betting on the game, it's the cardinal sin of sports crimes. And if you do it, history shows you get the book thrown at you, and continually thrown at you until you die. Shoeless Joe would attest to that as would the commissioner as his office wouldn't exist without it having happened. And it's as it should be. There is no higher crime against the game that calls the core integrity of the game into question than betting on games you're playing or managing. If Tom Brady had bet on football you can bet he'd be looking at a similar lifetime ban from football. First rule of playing professional sports is that you don't bet on professional sports.

Dude, NE may have done a whole lot more in the past 15 years than deflate footballs. I am not just focusing on that.

There are other things that they have been rumored to be linked to, like having an alternate frequency in Brady's helmet (to talk to him past the 15-second cutoff), messing with opposing coaches' head sets, putting microphones on their D-linemen to get the QB's audibles, filming in other people's locker rooms, and having people film on the sidelines with a press pass.

If they did all those things, and stole a boatload of wins (and four SB's) in the process, then what Rose did looks like child's play in comparison as far as I am concerned.

That's the kicker. There's no proof the Pats are guilty of any of that.

[monkeypower]

Pete and the Pats (which I have now decided will be the name of my doo-wop group) shouldn't be in the same conversation. It's two completely different things.

If I get a life sentence for murder after perjuring myself, I can't point to the guy who got a fine for vandalism, with some details that weren't proven in his trial, and ask why his sentence is less than mine.

[Mac the Knife]

In the NFL in 1963 Paul Hornuning a beloved NFL Hall of Famer bet on NFL games and was suspended one year, everyone moved on he came back and is now in the Hall of Fame.

Why is the Baseball Hall of Fame committing suicide by excluded so many great players for stupid reasons, Bonds, Clemens players I loathe btw its a crime they are not in.

Stop the Bull . Rose did his time let him in.

( A ) "1919."

( B ) The Baseball Hall of Fame is damned if it does, damned if it doesn't. But the damnation is larger if they let Rose and the 'Roids Boys in. While admittedly it's an institution that takes itself way more seriously than it by any rights should, it's not going to change its stance or its biases.

How future halls of fame can avoid this fate: don't "induct" individuals. Celebrate achievements and have rotating exhibitions be the centerpiece of your facilities, as for example the Smithsonian Institution or the National Archives.

[NJTank]

Baseball the only institution where nobody is forgiven and punishments are forever.

[bosrs1]

Baseball the only institution where nobody is forgiven and punishments are forever.

Hardly. In fact most institutions don't forgive you and punishments are forever.

[-kj]

Baseball the only institution where nobody is forgiven and punishments are forever.

All these years later, you still never bother reading responses to your posts and just keep spewing the same crap over and over.

As usual: Shut up, Meg.

[NJTank]

You know people have opinions different than the masses, or is that illegal now. It seems if you don't agree with the crowd you need to be silenced that is the new way in Amerika.

[-kj]

...and the usual knee-jerk response.

It has nothing to do with you disagreeing; it has everything with you refusing to read and/or think.

[Gothamite]

I happen to think we ought to at least get Pete to stop lying about what he did before we forgive him. But maybe that's just me, I'm cold-hearted.

[bosrs1]

I happen to think we ought to at least get Pete to stop lying about what he did before we forgive him. But maybe that's just me, I'm cold-hearted.

How many chances to tell the truth does he get? I mean his lifetime lie total is almost up to his lifetime hits total...

[sportzfan]

i did feel bad for him since gambling can be an addiction just like any other, but now it seems his lying is just as much of an addiction for him as well. his achievements should definitely be in the HoF but him as a person/plaque definitely shouldn't be.

[Gothamite]

Or he's just devoid of character.

He had a great opportunity to play the addiction card when he was first caught. He would have gotten a suspension, to be sure, but it would have been long over by now and he'd be back in the game today.

Of course, that would have meant telling the truth when caught.

[cubsfan2015]

[1insaneguy]

This is disappointing. I wanted Pete to be in the Hall of Fame before, but now I don't think he deserves it. He's lied too many times to be trusted anymore.

[NJTank]

I think putting him in the Hall will get him out of the spotlight.

It will make this issue go away and that is what baseball needs the issue to go away. I am sure the hell he has gone through is enough of a deterrent already and that is why the punishment has been met. He cant work in the game with a team any more he is 74 and so far removed he cant help a team any way. Once he is inducted he will fade away he will be just another man in the hall, and I will even put it on his plaque if needed. However, considering that there is a possible murderer racist who has been linked to throwing games in the Baseball Hall of Fame (Cobb), it is a joke t o continue to deny Pete Rose. Did he throw a game? Also the year he bet on games as an active player was 1986 a year in which he 72 games and stopped playing mid-season. Also as I recall he always bet on the Reds to win. I have no problem with this. If he bet against his own team maybe I will change my mind, but until you can show he bet against the Reds he is okay in my book. If you bet on your team to win you will try to win and that;s not hurting any game's integrity. He is the all time hits leader and deserves to be in the hall period.

[CS85]

Pete Rose will be put in the HOF as soon as he's dead enough not to profit from it. Same goes for Barry Bonds.