COLUMN: A Rose by another name would have better timing
Warren Spahn, the Hall of Fame pitcher who won more games than any other lefty in history, said, “Hitting is timing. Pitching is upsetting timing.”
Pete Rose, who ended his career as Major League Baseball’s all-time hit leader, apparently has forgotten something about timing since he retired.
The poor timing of the release of Rose’s autobiography, titled “Pete Rose: My Prison Without Bars,” with the shocking – shocking! – confession that he bet on baseball while he was manager of the Cincinnati Reds reminded me of the parole violator whose face was shown on the JumboTron at a ball game his parole officer was attending.
Yeah, bad timing.
Rose’s hope of being unbanned from baseball (and therefore, the Hall of Fame that he wants so desperately to join) for his betting may have been damaged by the book.
Two reasons the book release by Rose and his publisher came at a bad time are named Dennis Eckersley and Paul Molitor, whose entry into the Hall of Fame this week was overshadowed by the ruckus over the autobiography.
Eckersley holds a special place in my heart as the relief pitcher who dished up the ninth-inning homer to Kirk Gibson in the first game of the ’88 World Series, giving my beloved Dodgers the victory.
Despite giving up the historic homer, Eckersley’s career got him elected to the Hall of Fame. The Hall’s representatives were not amused by Rose taking the spotlight on a day that should have been the crowning moment of Molitor and Eckersley’s careers.
Rose admitted (he’s getting good at this) that the timing of the book was wrong, and apologized to the two newest Hall of Famers.
The book was intended to fulfill the supposed requirements of Commissioner Bud Selig that Pete would need to confess his sin, demonstrate remorse and show a lifestyle change before the commish would consider lifting the ban and let voters decide if Pete can be installed in the Cooperstown shrine.
The real question for Selig is: Is the guy they called “Charlie Hustle” still trying to hustle the commissioner?
Selig will now attempt to decide whether Rose’s admission is sincere, or if he’s only sorry he got caught.
The process has left me wondering how many Hall of Famers have skeletons in their closets, illegal or unethical activities – something most of us really don’t want to know about our heroes.
The stories of behind-the-scenes alcoholism (see: Mickey Mantle), womanizing (see: Babe Ruth, cross-reference: basketball’s Wilt Chamberlain), or just plain meanness (see: Ty Cobb) make it apparent that a player’s morality (or lack thereof) hasn’t been a large part of the selection process in the past.
Here’s a proposal for fans of the movie “Field of Dreams” – if Pete gets into the Hall, so does Shoeless Joe Jackson, banned from baseball for the 1919 “Black Sox” betting scandal.
Ray Kinsella, Terrance Mann and “Moonlight” Graham will agree with me.
Roy Burton is a senior majoring in print journalism. Comments can be sent to royburton@cc.usu.edu.