Absolutely he should be in the Hall. I think if he ever bet against his team, I may feel differently.
He should be in the Hall. He has done what was asked of him,admit and apologize. It's not like other hall bound atheletes don't do wrong(Bonds)
The other reason I think he should be in the hall is the HOF makes a distintion between playing and coaching careers... maybe if he was betting while playing i'd feel differently
I knew Pete personally for about 4 years. I was better friends with his Brother Dave but I also knew Pete. He never of course admitted to me(who the hell am I) that he bet on the Reds but I was very aware of his other gambling habits. He would bet every football game on Sunday and Run around the sports bar in Boca Raton FL that bore his name and would be yelling at the tv's. I always found this to be odd behavior, considering this was the mid 90's when he still was kinda holding onto the "I dont bet on sports" thing. Aside from losing any respect that I ever had for him after getting to know what an arrogant toolbag he was, I did walk away with one funny story from him. He was sitting at a table at his bar with Michael Moorer(boxer), his brother Dave, myself and a few waiters/waitresses frmo the establishment. Mike asked him to explain how the over/under bet worked in the NFL. I was surprised when he asked because I just assumed that everyone knew, although I guess theres always people that havent bet etc.....So Pete rattles off the basic, easy explanaition and everyon at the table assumes the topic is done.Mike looks a bit confused and asks Pete to explain it again. Pete looks kinda puzzled but repeats the info. For sure Mike would get it this time right? uh uh. I look at his face and he loks even more puzzled than the first time.Pete in his "ohio drawl" says to moorer" are you shittin me? you still dont get it do ya" well I wanted to shit my pants laughing but I also dont wanna catch a mighty left from the ex-champ(this is post Foreman). Mike admits to not getting it and Pete went on this 10 minute tirade abotu how retarded he must be if he cant understand something as simple as this. Everyone laughed , it was very very funny.......by the way, his brother dave is one of theg reatest guys around
The fact that over the past few years he has finally decided to come clean (and then only in dribs and drabs) does not in any way change anything from my point of view, as he is clearly only doing it for purely self-serving reasons. He spent almost 20 years defaming John Dowd, Bart Giamatti, and Fay Vincent, when everything they said and did was true and completely justified, and that is in my mind why his actions since retirement make him less worthy of enshrinement, not more. There are at least two reasons why betting on your team is just as bad as betting against it. First, it was clearly against the rules, which made him an ideal blackmail target from bookies, and by extension, the mob. Second, it completely warps his decision-making; if he's playing to win one game (because he has a lot of money riding on it), he handles his players completely differently than he should based on the best interests of the team. I would also note that there is no reason to believe him when he says he never bet against the Reds, or that he never bet when he was a player, since he has lied about everything else from the very beginning. Finally, the reason why he shouldn't be in the Hall is that every day for almost 30 years, when he walked into the clubhouse he saw a big sign that said that gambling was against the rules, and would result in being thrown out of the game. He chose to wilfully ignore that, and he is suffering the consequences.
Some great points right there Jeff. As for me, the jury is still out, I still can't decide whether i believe he should be in the hall or not. Him coming out and saying he bet every night certainly does not help.
The reason he admitted to betting on his team every night is because he didn't want people to think he was using his position as manager to decide whether or not to be on a certain night. He didn't want people to think he used his inside information on the team to pick and choose the nights he bet.
I think Baseball is the only sport where sportsmanship and decorum is part of the HOF voting. It may be time for Baseball to set up a Hall of Infamy. They could set it up in Vegas and have a legal sports book and a sports medicine clinic right on the premises. Perfect place to induct Rose, Bonds and the rest of the rogues. I bet in 25 or thirty years you could put together a HOI that could not only beat the hell out of the HOF team set the odds and the spread.
The only reason he admitted anything is 1. to get into the hall and 2. so his book would sell. His book is no different then Cansecos. I dont think he should ever be let into the Hall. For those of you who think that he never bet while he played probably think that Barry doesnt do steriods. There just isnt the proof that there was while he was manager. Also, he admits that he bet on his team every night. It doesnt state whether he bet on them to win or if he bet on them to lose.
Great line from the 70s, when Tom Lasorda was coaching 3rd for the Dodgers and Rose played 3rd for the Reds, during warmups for an inning. Lasorda: Hey Pete, we voted in the locker room for the best looking guy on the Reds, you took second. Rose: Thanks. Lasorda: Everyone else tied for first.
