pete rose

ok, so mm has an opinion on pete rose.....gentle readers are requested to kindly allow mm to rant.......for starts, i am no fan of organized baseball, football, basketball, hockey, etc.....the only sporting events that i can be counted on to watch include wimbledon tennis, the osu-michigan game, march madness if ky is playing, and the world series if i have any inkling that i have a connection to the teams (like sympathy for the boston red sox....or chicago cubs) anyway, i lived in cincinnati from 1978 through 1981 or so.......during the time when pete rose either played or managed/played or was disgraced or all three.........those were sad times for baseball fans, especially reds fans.........the question remains as to whether a player's personal life should weigh heavier than a player's contribution to the game of baseball when it comes to hall of fame status...........this is one of the few times that i can recall my grandpa broughton's opinion on any subject.........he laughed and recalled seeing ty cobb playing in indians stadium in cleveland......he recalled that ty cobb was notorius for keeping a bottle of bourbon with him the dugout, and that he was therefore apt to be involved in benchclearing brawls..............grandpa commented......'now ty cobb...he was no angel, and he is in the hall of fame............'that is the bottom line........there are those who are already in the hall of fame who are no angels...with regards to drink, drugs, wife abuse/adultery, tax evation, gluttony, you name the deadly sin..........if we draw the line and say........you can be elected to the hall of fame having commited any sin except gambling on baseball, it makes the whole hall of fame outfit look stupid........election to the hall of fame should be based only on contribution to the game of baseball, without moral judgements attached.......pete rose meets that pure concept of hall of fame.............lets get on with the business of electing him with next year's ballot............