Pete's Gambling

I've got plenty to say about Pete Rose. I've done that before and I'm sure will do that again, but I think today, the related topic of gambling.

There is a recent book on Pete that came out that I just read and I watched a four-part special on HBO Max. Both were really good. They seemed pretty well-balanced. I could tell that because they brought back both great and terrible memories for me. 

One thing that was new for me was just how much Rose gambled. Forget betting on baseball - just the scope of all the other gambling was breath taking. The betting on baseball seemed to come late in his career, but he was gambling often and with lots of money pretty much his entire adult life. It wasn't illegal and not against the rules of baseball, but it was just a foolish way to live. They say he was a terrible bettor and ended up owing lots of money. He had to borrow from people and then didn't pay them back. That is why people ultimately turned on him and went to the authorities and the media.

I know some things are addictive. I've always kind of assumed that there isn't such a thing as a gambling addiction. Some people just like the thrill of gambling. Then if you get in over their head, but then say you have a gambling addiction, it makes it not as much your fault. I might be changing my mind on that. If there is such a thing as a gambling addiction, Pete Rose has one. He was willing to risk the most important thing in his life - baseball - in order to gamble. In the suspension agreement that he signed, he could apply for reinstatement in one year. One year seems like a long time, but not compared to the forty years or so it has ultimately turned out to be.

At the time of the agreement, his lawyer should have asked the commissioner what would it take to be reinstated. I assume he did. I'm guessing something along the lines of tell the truth of what you did, give up any gambling, and maybe be willing to go to teams and tell them how gambling affected you. I think he would have been reinstated. The fact that he wanted to keep gamling massive amounts makes me think he was an addict.