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Steroids Or Gambling, Cheating Is Cheating
Published by MoonDog on July 28, 2009
Major League Baseball commissioner Bug Selig denied reports he is considering reinstating the sport’s all-time hits leader, Pete Rose, from his lifetime ban for gambling on baseball.
Rose was originally banned by then-commissioner Bart Giamatti in 1989 after an investigation revealed the former Cincinnati Reds manager bet on baseball games, including games involving his own team.
After 15 years of publicly denying the gambling allegations, Rose finally admitted what everyone knew was the truth in 2004. The only reason he did so at the time was to bring publicity to his book, titled My Prison Without Bars.
Rose’s quest to gain entrance into MLB’s Hall of Fame has been put on an indefinite hold as a result of the lifetime ban. Selig has, from time to time, spoken publicly about the possibility of reinstating Rose which would allow him to be considered for induction into the Hall of Fame.
Rose’s opportunity to be inducted by the baseball writers has long since passed. His only chance to be included among baseball’s immortals would have to come from the Veterans Committee.
Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, Rafael Palmiero and Manny Ramirez were all thought to be locks for induction into the Hall of Fame.
But with Sosa, Rodriguez, Palmiero and Ramirez all proven to be guilty of taking some form of performance enhancing drugs, the likelihood of their inclusion to the hall seems fleeting.
As for McGwire, Clemens and Barry Bonds – all of which allegedly have had some involvement with steroid use – their chances of gaining entrance into the hall doesn’t appear to be very good either.
All of these players had incredible careers and the statistics each of them produced are all worthy of earning them a spot in Cooperstown.
Yet despite those lofty numbers, some of the game’s greatest players may never have a bust placed within the baseball Hall of Fame.
Many believe Rose has paid his debt to baseball and should be reinstated. Personally, I don’t care what he did on the field and don’t believe he should ever be allowed to stand among baseball’s truly great players.
Years ago Rose claimed that his ability to earn a living was being adversely effected as a result of his ban from baseball.
That’s a poor excuse for someone that put himself into that situation. Not only did Rose willfully gamble on baseball – including his own team – he lied about it for 15 years.
Rose and the others may “deserve” to be in Cooperstown because of what they did on the field, but all of them could be left out for the same reason.
Taking steroids to bolster your statistics and betting on the team you manage took place “on the field”.
Some might argue that gambling isn’t nearly as heinous an act as taking PED’s like Sosa, Rodriguez, Palmiero and Ramirez have all done.
But in my mind, whether it’s gambling, steroid use or corking a bat, cheating is cheating.
There are no levels of cheating either, where one offense is deemed worse than another.
What it all boils down to for these men is that all of them choose to take the wrong path.
The reasons why all of them choose the wrong path are irrelevant too. Whether their decisions were driven by greed, arrogance or fear, all of them gave up their opportunities to be inducted into the Hall of Fame as a result of their own selfish acts.
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Northwestern-Illinois Football Game at Wrigley Field a Possibility - The Latest on Tue, 28th Jul 2009 12:38
[...] Steroids or gambling, cheating is cheating — (MoonDog) [...]