Five reasons to lift Pete Rose’s Hall of Fame ban

No. 5 The Man Baseball Needs to Handle The Asterisk

The idea of the asterisk being put next to great players that did questionable things to their character like gamble or take performance enhancing drugs has been in on the thought of Hall of Fame voters since the fallout of the Steroid era. How would baseball recover from having their record books forever tainted because of PEDs?

For as much flack as PED users get from baseball fans, former cheaters can still play and work in Major League Baseball while Rose’s lifetime ban forbids that from happening for him. Both the Steroid era and Rose’s lifetime ban were awful for the game of baseball, but are such a part of the game’s history, not talking about them is unavoidable.

Inclusion into the National Baseball Hall of Fame is entirely up the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, so why not let them decide who is an isn’t worthy of making the Hall of Fame. Should a player earn enshrinement that used steroids or bet on baseball, let the asterisk come into play. Maybe not literally, but it should be noted as part of the game’s rich history.

Since Rose’s circumstances are different with the lifetime ban, should it ever be removed, he could garner the necessary 75 percent for enshrinement, probably more likely than any steroid user would. If it takes a metaphorical asterisk to get Rose into the Hall of Fame, then it may be worth the risk for the BBWAA.

Cooperstown would get its all-time hits leader, but would also present a story to youngsters about why not to bet on baseball. Baseball needs to focus on pointing out the great qualities of its game, rather than point out all the mistakes it has made in its lengthy history. If the voters don’t want Rose in the Hall of Fame, that’s fine, but banning players is starting to seem a little antiquated.