Why Isn’t Pete Rose In Baseball? The Former All-Star Player Formally Petitions For Reinstatement For The Third Time

I'll start by saying this: I don't watch sports yet alone baseball. In that regard, you could argue that I have no business offering an opinion about whether or not Pete Rose should be reinstated to the sport that he excelled at in the 1970's and 80's. However, I propose that we look at his situation with a different set of eyes.

I'm the first to argue that criminals should be prosecuted and that this country is too lenient in sentencing. Simply put - the time you serve should be long enough that it fits the crime.

When Rose was caught illegally gambling on baseball in 1989 (when he was the manager of the Cincinnati Reds), he was banned from the sport permanently. The sentence ended his career without any hope for future involvement with the sport - on the field or off.

Initially Rose claimed that he was innocent. Then 14 years later when his autobiography was published, he fessed up to the indiscretion. Since being banned, Rose has lobbied hard for reinstatement to accomplish the task of getting into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Two previous Baseball Commissioners have denied his request. Now that there is a new Commissioner, Rose has once again formally asked for reinstatement.

I'm not one to usually let criminals off with a second chance. But I think that similar cases have set precedent and it's time to let Rose at least be elected into the Hall of Fame. Add an asterisk if you want. Gambling is a so-called "White Collar Crime". When Martha Stewart was caught lying to investigators about inside trading, she served her time and was released; Since then, the general public has looked past those indiscretions. Maybe it's time we do the same for Pete Rose.