Championship Baseball Teams and the Figures That Lead Them

The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball
Allan H. (Bud) Selig, Commissioner
245 Park Avenue, 31st Floor
New York, NY 10167
(212) 931-3800
Dear Mr. Commissioner:

Last night's Royals victory over the Red Sox marked their 40th victory of the season, a feat that took them 'til the second week of August last year. I attribute this success to the vision and efforts of Royals General Manager Dayton Moore. His philosophy centers on putting good baseball people in position to do their jobs well.



Gambling on baseball, and the ensuing lying about said gambling, might not constitute Pete Rose as a good baseball person in the minds of some of your colleagues. Rose has, for a large part of his post-retirement life, been a jerk. This is not, however, to discount what he did for the Cincinnati Reds and the Philadelphia Phillies. Rose was a major piece of the infamous Big Red Machine where he won two of his three championships and was named World Series MVP.




That's good stuff for Cincinnati/Philadelphia fans. Fans of the Brew Crew may very well be experiencing similar feelings with Milwaukee's success this year. There are key figures on that club to whom you attribute their good play. Perhaps there is even a future hall-of-famer on the team. I assume that you've been excited by the Brewers' play this season, and I ask you to consider what Rose meant for the clubs he played for, the fans for whom he provided so much elation.



It's time, Mr. Commissioner, to begin the process of un-banning Pete Rose from baseball. If Ben Sheets or Prince Fielder lead the Brewers on a pennant run, they'll be fan favorites for eternity. Don't the Reds fans of the 60s and 70s and the Phillies fans of the early 80s deserve to see their former hero in Cooperstown?



I for one, imagine that they do. Let's lift it.