Former Reds player, Pete Rose has written a 7-page letter to the National Baseball Hall of Fame asking them to approve his eligibility.
Rose was banned from the sport for gambling in 1989. Then, in the early 90’s Hall of Fame bylaws were changed and banned players were deemed ineligible for nomination into the organization.
In the new appeal, Rose contends that, since the rule barring banned players from the Hall of Fame came after his ouster from baseball - by then-Commissioner Bart Giamatti - his eligibility should be reinstated. Giamatti died soon after that ruling, and Rose now contends that the commissioner's ruling was not intended to keep him from the Hall of Fame.
Hal McCoy, longtime sportswriter with the Dayton Daily News, recently told WYSO that he believes Rose should be allowed his place in the Hall of Fame.
“There’s no doubt about it that Pete belongs in the the Hall of Fame for what he did on the field. 4256 hits - to do that a player would have to get 200 hits a year for 20 years and that’s just 4000 hits. There’s still 256 short. Few players get 200 hits a year anymore. Few players play for twenty years, so I think that records pretty safe.”
Despite that sentiment, McCoy doesn’t think the ban will be lifted or that Pete will make it to the Hall of Fame.
For years, Rose denied betting on games involving the Reds but later admitted that he had.
Efforts to reverse his ban from the Hall of Fame were re-ignited last year when he was allowed to play in the 2015 All Star Game.
