Ken Rosenthal of MLB Network, MLB on FOX and The Athletic explained why he believes former Cincinnati Reds and Big Red Machine great Pete Rose won't be eligible for National Baseball Hall of Fame election despite increased promotion of gambling and casinos by Major League Baseball and regional networks during Rosenthal's The Athletic Baseball Show podcast with Tim McMaster.
"I would say that nothing is going to change," Rosenthal said. "This question is fair. ... Especially if you're a Pete Rose fan and you see all of the gambling elements that are being introduced into the game ... you might wonder - hey, whoa - Pete Rose, hello, where is he? The difference is - and the reason Rose's ban with not be lifted - is because he bet on baseball. And as a player, you cannot do that. It's an integrity-of-the-game issue. In fact, it's the premier integrity-of-the-game issue. If there is a question about the validity of the competition, then you're gonna have all kinds of problems. And you're talking about a sport that would be ultimately descending into professional wrestling ... something that is scripted or whatever. You're gonna have all these questions that were raised. Baseball doesn't want that. Baseball shouldn't want that.
"Listen, it pains me - the situation with Rose. ... I like him. ... So knowledgeable still about that game. My gosh, as a player there was no question - first-ballot Hall of Famer, probably darn-near unanimous. But he did commit the cardinal sin. And that is what it is known as in the game. And no matter how much MLB might embrace gambling, they're not embracing players gambling on games."
Rose said in April that he's "not going to live the rest of my life worried about going to baseball's Hall of Fame."
Last November, Rose told Jim Gray that betting on baseball - which Rose said he now does legally at casinos - was the only mistake he's ever made.
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