Pete Rose wants back in the game

A story from Sports Illustrated earlier this month deals with an issue that seems to come and go a lot in Major League Baseball: Should Pete Rose be reinstated and made eligible for the Hall of Fame.

Here's the backstory in case you need it. Rose played for the Reds, Phillies, and Expos over a 24-year career and no one played harder. When he retired as a player in 1986, he was (and still is) the all-time leader in games, at-bats, and hits.

Rose managed the Reds until 1989 when then-commissioner Bart Giamatti banned him from Major League Baseball for life for gambling.

Over the past 25 years, Rose has been on a crusade to be reinstated, thus making him eligible for the Hall of Fame (he would have been eligible in 1992 had he not been banned).

The Rose Saga surfaces from time to time and seems to disappear with as much fanfare as a Florida Marlins game. The latest discussion has all the elements of supporters' favorite arguments: Players from the steroid era are eligible for the Hall so why not give Pete a fair shot? If Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens can be eligible for the Hall of Fame, why not Pete Rose?

Because Pete Rose agreed to the ban. He submitted himself to the authority of the Commissioner's Office which handed down the punishment rather than fight the allegations and the penalty.

There are players who are suspected of using steroids but never tested positive. This allows for plausible deniability on the part of those under the steroid cloud. Bonds and Clemens both received less than 36% of the vote in the last ballot. Despite the backlash from the Baseball Writers Association of America, they made it on to the ballot. That's one step closer than Rose.

Throngs of baseball fans are looking at the Juice Ball Era as a double standard. If players could cheat with performance-enhancing drugs why shouldn't Pete Rose be forgiven for his baseball sins?
It's the classic Hall of Fame argument: If you let this guy in how different is this guy. What about this guy. Why are we drawing the line with this guy?

Pete Rose agreed to the ban rather than fight to clear his name. If he applies for reinstatement, which he has the right to do, he will have to answer the same questions people have had for 25 years. I wonder if he is ready to answer those questions now.