Top 10 Reasons to put Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame

There is currently a baseball scandal coming to light. The Houston Astros stole the signs their opponents were using and transmitted them to their teammates. It was undoubtedly a big reason they won the world series a couple years ago. Some people have been suspended.

Boo hoo, they were suspended. My boy Pete never cheated, but he's out for life. It's been a couple years since I've ranted about this injustice. I'm due.

I bet I have more than 10, but we'll limit ourselves to that.

1. There is no evidence he ever bet against his team. That would be an incentive to try harder, wouldn't it? But what about days he didn't bet? It seems from the evidence, those days didn't exist. He bet every chance he had.
2. The Chicago White Sox (aka Black Sox) were suspended for life. Yes, but that was totally different. They conspired with gamblers to lose the World Series on purpose so the gamblers could bet against them and make a lot of money.
3. He would never play to lose. He played on a winning teams more than anyone else in baseball history.
4. Steve Howe was suspended 7 times for using cocaine. He won't get into the hall of fame, but he is eligible. Apparently that isn't as bad as betting on your team.
5. He didn't kill Bart Giamatti. Bart was the commissioner that kicked Pete out. He died the next week. The subsequent commissioners were friends of his and I'm sure blamed Pete for stressing him and leading to his death. What his friends should have done is convinced Bart to not to be a chain smoker.
6. That Pete lied has nothing to do with it. I can't think of when I last lied. I mean its been many, many years. So I don't condone lying. But who wouldn't have lied in that situation. There is no hard evidence against you. There are a couple of convicted felons that said you bet on baseball. If you admit to it, you are fired from your job. "Pete, did you bet on baseball?" 
7. That the rule is posted in the clubhouses is immaterial. They love to bring that up, but so what. It's posted, because it's not a common sense rule. Why don't they post "Make sure you don't murder anyone"? Everyone knows that. Very few people in the world can get in trouble for placing a bet. That's why they post the rule in the clubhouse. So he knew it was wrong to bet and he did it anyway? Of course he did. I would guess 99% of people that do anything wrong know it at the time. 
8. Reinstating him would not bend the rules. When he was removed, one of the conditions was he could apply for reinstatement in a year. That was around thirty years ago.
9. Why not do something to those that actually cheat? Look at the top 20 home run hitters of all time. On that list are people that don't belong because they cheated to get there. #1,4,9,11,13,15,17 all cheated. But they're all eligible. They all made big money by cheating. They all won a bunch of games by cheating. And how about banning the people that kept people out of baseball for decades because they weren't white? 
10. Pete had more hits than anyone ever - 4,256. All were made without the benefit of steroids.
11. (I can't help going past 10 reasons) A lifetime ban isn't a deterrent. How about a 10 year ban? Is there anyone that would bet on baseball because its only a 10 year ban? I think not.
    

I'm not saying Pete is perfect. Oh, he's a bit of a jerk for sure. But there are already plenty of those in the hall.