by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright January 9, 2004
All Rights Reserved.

reaking his silence after a 14-year exile from major league baseball, Pete Rose finally admitted he bet on the grand old game—but only while managing the Cincinnati Reds in 1987, shortly after his retirement. Rose was immortalized after breaking Ty Cobb's all-time hits record Sept. 11, 1985. When allegations surfaced about Rose's clubhouse gambling, then baseball commissioner A. Bartlett [Bart] Giamatti commissioned Washington attorney John Dowd to investigate, though the league office had watched Rose since the late ‘70s. “The evidence was overwhelming and non-contradictory,” said Dowd years later, after taking heat that he was engaged in “McCarthyism,” trying to impugn baseball's hit leader and future hall-of-famer. Dowd “played dirty pool with Pete,” said Roger Kahn, Rose's biographer and co-author, to whom Rose denied he ever bet on baseball.

      On Aug. 24, 1989, Rose was permanently banned from baseball by former commissioner A. Bartlett [Bart] Giamatti. After fourteen years of denials, Rose releases his new book Jan. 8 “My Prison Without Bars,” finally admitting he bet on baseball in 1987 while managing the Cincinnati Reds. With the clock ticking on Rose getting into the Hall of Fame, he thought a public confession would increase his chances with the Baseball Writers Assn. of America. If they don't vote by Dec. 2005, the decision is left with Major League Baseball's Veterans' Committee—a group less sympathetic than the media. Rose would also like to see outgoing commissioner Bug Selig reverse the ban that keeps him from managing or working in any other capacity. “Yes, sir. I did bet on baseball,” Rose told Selig during a private meeting, jolting the sports world, yet giving a free X-ray into his motives.

      In that same interview, Rose said he bet four to five times a week, insisted that he never bet against his own team and claimed he didn't bet from the clubhouse. When Selig asked Rose, why he did it, Rose confessed: “I didn't think I'd get caught,” giving a true snapshot of his personality. While some experts blame Rose's denials on his compulsive gambling, his response reveals a more cunning side. Like his original biography “Pete Rose: My Story,” his new book is yet another smokescreen, realizing that time is running out on his chances of reinstatement. He's hoping that baseball writers will fall for the latest ploy to gain entrance into Cooperstown. Without any sign of rehabilitation, Rose can't be trusted to repeat his past mistakes—especially manage a professional baseball team. Getting into the Hall of Fame is one thing but managing requires character, trust and integrity.

      Glaring inconsistencies still remain in Rose's recent “confession.” He claims he never placed bets from the clubhouse or while managing, a statement refuted by Tommy Gioiosa who admitted to running bets from the clubhouse while Rose managed the Reds in 1985. Ron Peters, one of Rose's bookies, testified that Rose place numerous bets in 1985. “The proof shows he bet when he was a player and player-manager,” said Dowd, hoping to set the record straight with Rose's latest publicity blitz. Before Rose's confession, Dowd was savaged by Rose for engaging in an unfounded witch-hunt. “The farthest thing from my mind right now is making a bet on anything,” Rose told ABC's Charley Gibson in an exclusive interview on Jan. 8. Yet Rose told Los Angeles Times' sports writer T.J. Simers in Dec. ‘03 that he played the horses at Santa Anita racetrack, revealing his inability to tell the truth.

      Four years ago, Rose was honored on the all-Century team at the 1999 World Series in Atlanta along with sluggers Hank Aaron and Ted Williams. After receiving a standing ovation, he was approached by sports journalist Jim Gray. “Might this not be a good in the face of overwhelming evidence, to show some contrition and admit that you be on baseball,” Gray said to Rose, prompting more denials and unleashing a backlash still haunting the pesky broadcaster. While most people thought he was out of line embarrassing Rose on national TV, Gray was on the right track seeking a mea culpa from baseball's stubborn hit leader. Gray still hasn't admitted he went too far that night. “It's got a lot better today, didn't it?” said Gray, hoping that he'll finally get off the hook for exposing the truth. What Gray still doesn't get is that his obnoxiousness got him into trouble not bad journalism.

      Pete Rose has every right to lobby his way back into professional baseball—including telling his story in another whitewashed book. But it's up to MLB and baseball writers to recognize that he's currently unfit to assume any responsible job in the baseball business. “Baseball has an irrational fear of gambling,” said Paul Finkelman, a professor of law at the University of Tulsa, buying Rose's argument that had he had a drug or alcohol problem he would have been treated differently. Not only has Rose not submitted to any serious rehabilitation he believes “coming clean” somehow reverses 14 years of lies. “He's been punished. He could have been a manager all theses years,” said Finkelman, recognizing the real danger of Rose's reinstatement. Putting Rose into the Hall of Fame is one thing but allowing a con artist back into professional baseball wouldn't be good for the game.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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