A huge majority of fans want Pete Rose reinstated.  A majority of baseball writers don’t, especially those who are the gatekeepers to the BBHOF.  I believe that the writers feel that way simply because many of them are too young to remember & appreciate Pete Rose, and because younger people in today’s society tend to be more hostile than previous generations were at their age.

Another issue that has come up lately is that the new commissioner & others are criticizing Pete for his personal matters such as continuing to gamble.  Gambling is a legal activity in many states.  If Pete were betting on baseball right now, it wouldn’t make a difference even if he were working in the front office of a team, as I’m sure many team employees gamble on sports & probably even bet for or against the team they work for.  It means nothing as long as their employment position doesn’t affect the team’s play.

Regardless of whatever Pete has done, he’s been banned for some 25 years now and has lost a quarter of a century that he could have been associated with baseball, and his image has been tarnished permanently regardless of whether he gets back into baseball or the HOF.  He’s also lost millions of dollars as a result of this, and I don’t mean a pun about gambling per se, except that he gambled that he could do anything against the rules & not get caught or have to pay for it, and he lost (as I’ve heard he always does), as most gamblers eventually become net losers unless they’re really good & do it for a living, and even some of those guys (and ladies) go bust as well — heck, many of them will tell you that they’ve routinely gone bust in their gambling careers only to get a stakehorse & come back time & again.  FYI, I used the term “stakehorse” incorrectly as most people do nowadays — a stakehorse is actually the horse/person/thing you bet on, not the one placing the bet or backing the player.

If the commissioner reinstates Pete, it’s likely that the Reds would want to hire him for their front office or broadcast booth.  I doubt anybody would hire him as a coach at any level, and I seriously doubt that he will make into the BBHOF anytime soon based on the BB writer’s current attitudes who have a vote.  What would change for Pete is that he would then be able to be in baseball on a regular basis (if he landed a job as such) and that would draw more writers toward his corner by just seeing him on a regular basis & knowing that baseball & an overwhelming majority of fans have forgiven him & that he has done his fair share of time for his transgressions — many murders & rapist get less time than Pete has done on the ineligible list.

One solution, and probably the best solution to the situation is that the commissioner could create a new category of suspension that’s similar to parole — Pete could get “conditional reinstatement”, whereby Pete could be at ballgames & even be employed by teams or networks, but on a case-by-case basis with the commissioner’s approval & have his activities monitored, and he would also be eligible for the BBHOF.  Part of that condition should be that Pete come completely clean to everything he’s done, which he would probably not do anyway, but it’s worth a try.

Another lesser move would be to allow the Veterans Committee to vote on players who are on the ineligible list, such as Pete Rose & Shoeless Joe Jackson.  This gives them the opportunity to be in the BBHOF without being reinstated.  This only affects Pete’s work opportunities since Joe is dead, but I don’t think it will help as I don’t think writers will vote for banned players even if they could — it would be like hiring a convict vs hiring a parolee.

This “parole” would help Pete tremendously & give him a chance to acclimate back into baseball & reintegrate into baseball society just like paroled felons, which Pete is actually.