This situation really doesn't have anything to do with betting on baseball, the rule they mentioned in the article is giving gifts for "services rendered". Obviously I can see the issue if say a player said he'd buy another player a car if he threw at somebody's head, but I can't imagine that the "spirit of the rule" had a situation like this in mind. It's just so harmless. Should the NFL start suspending RB's that buy their linemen watches after a good season?
It might be more like if Strahan gave Brett Favre a watch for running into his record breaking sack. Ultimately I think you're right, and this is going to end up being a minor fine or suspension, and a stern warning to all players that they need to keep their gifts to themselves.
I'm not sure that's a fair comparison either, Hunter wasn't involved in the actual situation, and presumably the Royals should've been trying to sweep the Tigers in any case. I also think bets or promises of this nature are pretty common between friends and such, but are usually done on a more private basis and not for an entire team.
Very good post in return Jeff. Here's where I stand on Pete Rose. He's a dirtbag. What he did was wrong, regardless of whether he bet on his team or not. He broke a HUGE rule, and it does warrant punishment. That said, he's been cut off from babseball for a long time now. His numbers are deserving of Cooperstown, regardless of the person he was off the field. I've always separated the player from the person. In sports terms, you are who you play as, IMO. Basically, I see it along the same lines as Shoeless Joe. Did his actions off the field, while as far against the rules as a person can possibly be, affect his performance on the field? Of course, there's no answer to the question, neither in the case of Pete or Joe. So it comes down to opinion. So I'd put the choice in the hands of the voters. Who knows? Perhaps they never vote in Rose, on the principle of the matter. I would be fine with that. But this is an "executive decision" made by a single person, and is not subject to debate. That's my issue with it. So in return, regardless of the friendliness of the matter, Hunter broke the rules. Leaving rules to interpretation is a dangerous game. That said, the league is doing it anyway with situations like the already discussed Bonds and Giambi. Hunter should get a month off. It would send the message that while this was a friendly "bet" it wasn't more than a quick lapse in judgement. In that case, it shows that baseball will not tollerate breaking the rules, but at the same time, won't ruin the career of a guy who really didn't do anything wrong.
You can't lump Bonds and Giambi together even though they are both guilty. Bonds is just a total asshole and at least Giambi came clean about it.
I disagree. They both "came clean" because they were under oath. Do you honestly believe that Giambi would have simply said "Oh yeah, I did shoot up a few times" to Bud Selig, if asked? I highly doubt it. A cheater is a cheater is a cheater. If you were playing cards and someone was dealing from the bottom of the deck, but he admitted it after confronted, yet kept his winnings, would that be okay? Same difference, IMO. Bonds vs Giambi's personality really has nothing to do with it. I've met Reggie Jackson, and he was a total prick. Does that change his performance on the field? Not a bit. Another personality situation is ARod. Just 2 months ago Yankees fandom was ready to string Alex from a tree for rehashing the Jeter situation. Somehow, over the past few weeks, everyone has magically forgot. Like I said, I make a distinction between the player and the person. David Wells is a beer swigging, bar fighting, ass. Did he pitch his ass off? Hell yeah. Is that all that matters in the standings? Yup. I don't like picking and choosing who to like, simply because of who they are off the field. It's a discredit to the player, and the player is the guy who everyone is cheering for every night.
Last I heard, Bonds lied under oath so I don't know what you mean. Isn't that why they are trying to get him on perjury now? I stand by what I said, Bonds is a total asshole and Giambi admitted it to the grand jury and the press.
This is more like IF the Jets needed Detroit to beat New England for the Jets to make the playoffs and Chad calls up Kitna and says "hey, If you guys beat New England all buy the team a case of champaign" To me, neither siutation is betting on the sport. Selig ought to be spending his time finding ways to get the steroid junkies out of the game, especially Bonds, as it will be a sad day when he breaks Aaron's record.
