Noted sports fan Donald Trump has thoughts about Pete Rose’s bid for reinstatement.
Pete Rose played Major League Baseball for 24 seasons, from 1963-1986, and had more hits, 4,256, than any other player (by a wide margin). He gambled, but only on his own team winning, and paid a decades long price. GET PETE ROSE INTO THE BASEBALL HALL OF FAME. It’s Time!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 8, 2020
Rose recently sent MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred a new petition to be welcomed back into baseball’s good graces, citing the recent lack of punishment for players involved with the Astros’ cheating scandal as proof that his crimes do not meet the levels of odiousness to keep him out of the game. Rose, of course, was banned from baseball for gambling on games he managed for the Reds.
President Trump was in his 30’s during Rose’s prime, so he was likely quite plugged in to the latest exploits of the Big Red Machine. Yet as Craig explained in the piece I linked to above, Rose is pretty wrong here and has little to no shot of being reinstated. While I agree with Charlie Hustle that the Astros’ players probably should have received some sort of punishment for their actions, that doesn’t change that Rose broke what’s long been considered to be baseball’s golden rule. Some argue that it’s impossible to tell the story of baseball in Cooperstown without the all-time hits leader, but I’d say that the Hall of Fame seems to be doing just fine without him.
The President has tweeted support for Rose on numerous occasions, and in 2016 showed off a signed baseball on which Rose urged him to “Please make America great again.”
Just received from @PeteRose_14.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 14, 2016
Thank you Pete! #VoteTrump on
Tuesday Ohio! #Trump2016#MakeAmericaGreatAgain pic.twitter.com/UvP03n7dQq
Rose will probably have to stick with writing “I’m sorry I bet on baseball” when he signs autographs in Las Vegas.