Pete Rose says he should have picked drinking or drugs over gambling

Way to step up for the kids, Hustle.

Pete Rose, the disgraced face of Major League Baseball recently appeared on Pittsburgh’s 93.7 The Fan to talk about the Biogenesis PED scandal that has rocked the league and suggested that he should have tried drugs or been a drunk as they get second chances in baseball:

"“You have to understand, I don’t call these guys to do shows, they call me. And of course with all this steroid talk and the 12 guys being suspended and A-Rod appealing, they want my input because I’m suspended for life. Hey, everything is a different case. I made mistakes. I can’t whine about it. I’m the one that messed up and I’m paying the consequences. However, if I am given a second chance, I won’t need a third chance. And to be honest with you, I picked the wrong vice. I should have picked alcohol. I should have picked drugs or I should have picked up beating up my wife or girlfriend because if you do those three, you get a second chance. They haven’t given too many gamblers a second chances in the world of baseball.”"

Despite his poor choice of words, Rose does have a point – not so much for himself but the continued chances the players receive. From drugs (both recreational and performance enhancing) to drinking to physical abuse, players seemingly get chance after chance as Major League Baseball often hands out nothing more than slaps on the wrist – if that.

Out of the four major sports, Major League Baseball has the most lenient of suspension policies and it doesn’t sound as if they intend on making any changes in the near future.