After 20 Years Pete Rose Should Go On The Aggressive Against Baseball Hall Of Fame

20 years ago yesterday, Pete Rose was banned from baseball for gambling. Note that his gambling occurred while he was a manager, not a player. Why hasn't Pete Rose the player been put in the Hall of Fame? Everyone knows he earned the due honor on the field. His numbers are unbelievable and by the way I was not a Rose fan at all. He is 1st all time in several offensive categories including hits. His career total in hits is a record that possibly will never be broken.

I understand banning a gambler because of the detriment it could cause to the game. Banning Rose the manager from participating in the game for life was enough punishment. Not to mention making Rose the player wait so many years for enshrinement into the Hall of Fame. Now we have seen performance enhancing drugs cause what could be almost as severe damage to the game. At least to the best of our knowledge, Rose accumulated his stats the old fashioned way - without JUICE. With the embarrassment and shock caused by the JUICERS the last few years, it is time for baseball to end its grudge with Rose and place him where he belongs in the Hall of Fame. And yes, his gambling and the price he paid should be noted in as large of letters as his stats are on his monument.

Since baseball has wanted to hold a grudge for so long, if I were Rose I would start a grudge of my own. I believe Rose should have announced yesterday, on the 20th anniversary of his banning, that he would NEVER allow the baseball Hall of Fame to enshrine him or anything of his name or likeness. In fact, if I were Rose I would have demanded the Hall of Fame return items of his that are currently displayed there such as bats, uniforms, cleats, etc. Absolutely nothing having to do with Pete Rose would be allowed in the baseball Hall of Fame, ever. He should put it in official documents so that it cannot happen after his death.

By doing this, Rose's story would only grow. He would be known as the only person to ever refuse to agree to enshrinement in the Hall of Fame. One more trivia question he would be the answer to. This action would take his story from Jack and Jill status to Paul Bunyan status, even more head and shoulders above other historic baseball stories.

As stated earlier, everyone who knows anything about baseball knows Rose is a Hall of Famer, no questions asked. Being a Hall of Famer is more about the fan acknowledging you as such, than having some plaque put on a wall with your stats in some building.