Pete Rose Once Again Asks for MLB Reinstatement in Wake of Astros' Sign-Stealing Scandal
By Michael Luciano
It's weird to think that baseball remains a sport barring the player with the most hits of all time from the Hall of Fame, but that's where we stand with Pete Rose.
The Cincinnati Reds legend, who has been banned from the game for over 30 years, has once again asked the league for reinstatement, claiming he was unfairly punished for his actions, citing the Houston Astros players that orchestrated the sign stealing setup, who were not disciplined.
BREAKING: Pete Rose asks MLB for reinstatement, cites no punishment for Astros players for electronic signs-stealing. "There cannot be one set of rules for Mr. Rose and another for everyone else," Rose's 20-page petition to Manfred says. https://t.co/9CRCHBXkUy
— Don Van Natta Jr. (@DVNJr) February 5, 2020
Rose, who also holds the record for singles, games played, and at-bats, was banned by former MLB commissioners Peter Ueberroth and Bart Giamatti after he was determined to have placed bets on games. A 2015 ESPN report claimed that he bet on games while a player-manager with the Reds.
Even with that out in the open, Rose has been barred from the game for 30 years for something that the league as a whole is now trying to align itself with. Furthermore, no Astros players were disciplined this past offseason for pretty brazen cheating that had a direct result towards changing the outcomes of games. If Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman are free men, Rose should be as well.
He has a point
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) February 5, 2020
I think Astros cheating was worse than what Pete Rose did, and no players were punished for cheating https://t.co/XHYKUoy5Jd
Either ban everyone for cheating or ban no one, you can't pick and choose. Rose is 78, and he's more than served his time for betting on games. The only smart move is to re-instate him and get him in Cooperstown.