The Annual Ray Fosse Recollection; or One More Reason to Vote Charlie In

The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball
Allan H. (Bud) Selig, Commissioner
245 Park Avenue, 31st Floor
New York, NY 10167
(212) 931-9800

Dear Mr. Commissioner:

Here we are. The All-Star break. When I was a kid, the All-Star game was one of the summer’s highlights. Seeing all the players from all of the teams together in their respective uniforms, playing for a common cause. It was always such a joy.

I don’t really feel that way as an adult. ESPN has over-hyped everything; it seems as if the Homerun Derby’s more important than the All-Star game. What’s worse is that you have zero regular baseball taking place for four days. Four days! Granted, it’s great that the players get the time off and the hopes of participating in the All-Star game, but it’s that time of the season when fans are really getting revved about the season and standings watching most (if not every) day.

The good part is that the wait is over before you know it. The wait for regular season baseball to resume that is.

There are many folks in the sports world that suggest that many bad things in baseball have happened on your watch. I’m not going to join them in this presumption, this opinion, this verbal crusade. I will, however, suggest that, right now, before your time as commissioner is up, you have the chance to produce a major positive, an astoundingly good thing (Note: I only agree with this columnist's ideas, not his lack of spellchecking/editing) for baseball.

Please, Mr. Commissioner. Un-ban Pete Rose. Baseball fans want to see him in. Ray Fosse wants to see him in. It’s the right thing to do for a game so subject to criticism and negative light. It’s hard, no, impossible, to think of the words “All-Star week” without an image of Rose illuminating in your mind’s eye. Make like a Spike Lee movie, sir. Do the right thing.