Pete Rose Should Be Allowed into the Hall of Fame
Essay by review • December 27, 2010 • Essay • 995 Words (4 Pages) • 1,560 Views
Who Makes the Final Decision?
There are many questions that go through a Major League Baseball fan of the Cincinnati Reds. The most important question that is on every Red's fan mind is why Pete Rose should be allowed into the Hall of Fame? Most players that have been inducted in the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame such as, Nolan Ryan, Tom Seaver, and everyone else were inducted for their pitching or baseball playing ability. Therefore, the main idea of being accepted into the Hall of Fame would be how well each player performed on the field during their career. When the baseball commissioner in 1989 "Bart Giamatti barred Pete Rose from baseball after an investigation found that he was guilty of betting" on baseball, what gave the commissioner the right to ban Rose from the Hall of Fame?
Many of the players that have made it to the highest level of the game, being inducted into the Hall of Fame, do not have even one tenth of the statistics that Pete Rose achieved. Rose has more career hits than anyone who has ever played the game, 4,256 to be exact. Rose also played in 3,562 games (a major league record), was the 1963 Rookie of the Year, and in 1973 was the National Leagues Most Valuable Player. He holds the all-time league record for most at bats (14,053), the record for the most singles (3,315), and the record for most doubles (746). He also holds the all-time league record for most total career runs at 2,165. As you can see, Pete Rose more than fulfils the standards to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Pete Rose has also done something that no other player has had the ability or time to do. He has played over 500 games at each of five different positions. His main stay appears to be first base (939 games), but when compared with the other positions played, it appears that he was just a great all around baseball player. He played 628 games at second base, 634 at third, 671 in left field, and 595 in right field. These are astronomical numbers compared to others that have played the game over time. Pete Rose is in a class all by himself.
Pete Rose also played professional baseball for more consecutive years than anyone else ever has. He played for a whopping 24 straight years, which is another all-time league record. These 24 years outdid even the great Hank Aaron, Ernie Banks, and Rod Carew. Rose played major roles on the three championship years that he had. Rose and his teammates earned three World Series championships, whereas Ernie Banks, a member of the Hall of Fame, was never able to win one.
However, the evidence against Rose is difficult to refute, and there exists no evidence in support of the legendary slugger. Since Rose's banishment, an ongoing debate has been sparked: should Pete Rose be eligible for entry into the Hall of Fame? The question is remarkably complex, yet there exists an answer. Pete Rose deserves to be recognized in Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame. His credentials are three times those of other players in the Hall of Fame, baseball's tribute to the elite class of ballplayers that raised baseball to a new level. Rose's wrongdoings have earned him sufficient punishment; his banishment from baseball prohibits Rose from working in any facet of Major League Baseball,
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