It’s finally time for Pete Rose call to Hall

“To be in or not to be in.”

Let the record show I'm not a Reds, Phillies or Expos fan. You don't have to be to realize how great Pete Rose was. He was a first-ballot, unanimous Hall of Famer had he not broken one of baseball's cardinal sins. 

Maybe I'm getting soft in my old age but I actually felt bad for Rose. Yes, I know he was his own worst enemy and what he did wasn't a “one-time” mistake. I can't stop thinking about how Rose lived, ate and slept baseball. How he hustled, not like every game might be his last but like every play might be.

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He became one of the toughest outs in baseball and one of the game's greatest hitters, breaking baseball’s all-time hit record. Frankly, there were times he was baseball. I played more than a few wiffle ball games where either me or another player emulated Rose’s famous crouched batting stance at some point or another.

I know steroids and betting on baseball are both illegal, but I can't stop thinking about how one of them helps pad your stats and the other helps pad your wallet (or at least that's the goal). Rose was still Rose, despite his mistake.

Was he cocky? No doubt. It's probably the thing I liked least about him. So modesty would have gone a long way, but let's take a moment to look at Rose's body of work.

We all know about the hits, but he has three World Series rings, three batting titles, an MVP award, two Gold Gloves, a Rookie of the Year award, and he's the last player to hit in 40 straight games. He's on baseball's All-Century team and was The Sporting New's 1970s Player of the Decade to go along with an amazing 17 All-Star Game appearances.

It's a shame that a player with that kind of portfolio didn't get to enjoy a day in the Cooperstown sun before his passing last year at age 83. I always felt baseball would honor him posthumously, and here we are. I'm sure by now you know where I stand on that. 

But when MLB finally lifted its lifetime ban against Rose, Shoeless Joe Jackson and others, it cleared the way for Rose to finally get his due.  

So for those who feel the same, when might Rose’s Hall of Fame selection and induction occur? My guess is he is elected through the “Classic Baseball Era Committee,” which doesn't meet again till December 2027, and is inducted in 2028.  

It's interesting that all these years later, sports betting has become a huge part of baseball, tying the national pastime directly to gambling. Draft Kings is an official MLB partner. Their billboards appear inside the stadiums along with their commercials. They are even part of many of MLB broadcasts.

I'm not arguing Rose was a great person, but it's time for the call to the Hall.

John Newman is a collector, dealer and the host of the Sports Card Nation podcast. Catch his Hobby Quick Hits on Monday and his guest interviews on Friday on your favorite podcast plat­form. You can reach him at sportscard­nationpc@gmail.com or on Twitter at @sportscardnati1