Halls of Fame Linked to Nation's Collective Memory

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:

The passing of former San Francisco 49ers Head Coach Bill Walsh was sad news for many in the world of sports. Tagged as the father of the West Coast Offense, Walsh’s lineage of influence is heavily evident in today’s National Football League.

The same is true for the influence Pete Rose has had on the game of baseball and many of Major League Baseball’s athletes today. I imagine that a lot of them aren’t aware of it though, and that’s just not good enough. Bill Walsh, like Rose, won three championships. The difference is that, if you visit the NFL’s Hall in Canton, Ohio, you’ll see a bust of Walsh. Seven current or former NFL head coaches were employed by regimes Walsh led. The watersheds displayed by those students of his have also led to other successful coaching stints. The man is a football icon, and will forever be remembered as such.

Regardless of the fact that some don’t want to admit that Rose is a baseball icon, it’s a fact. He is. Rose’s placement in Cooperstown would help link generations of fans and players alike. That same lineage would be more evident to those that know little about Rose beyond his gambling scandal. This is about baseball and the preservation of the game. To a degree, you could argue that Rose’s gambling were decisions he made in his personal life. It can’t be said that Bill Walsh was a perfect man, but he’s remembered today and for years to come for his accomplishments. The same should be said for Rose. Please, Mr. Commissioner, lift the ban.

It's a Shame the Man Won't Sign Who He Is

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:

I write to you today in the form of interrogation. The Kansas City Star published a little blip in today’s edition saying that Pete Rose made his usual appearance in Cooperstown this weekend to sign autographs. The paper reported that Rose and former Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Mike Schmidt share the same autograph “shop.”


While that tidbit is interesting, I found it even more peculiar that Rose’s “menu” states that he won’t sign anything “Charlie Hustle” or “I’m sorry I bet on baseball.” That, to say the least, is bizarre.


The reason that I’ve been such a Pete Rose fan all of my life was for the very reason he was tagged with that moniker. I loved it as a kid, and love it now. It embodies how he played the game, how coaches wanted their kids and fathers wanted their sons to play the game. It reflects how I did play the game. I hustled. Every time I made contact, I tore out of the batter’s box. Each occasion in which I was given the steal signal, I lit out like it was 90 feet for safety or else. For every sharply hit ball to me in left or center, I sprinted, and sometimes dove to make the out.




And you just don’t see that in players anymore. Rose shouldn’t be embarrassed to sign autographs with those words. He shouldn’t be castigated for them either. In fact, he shouldn’t have to set up shop; he should be sitting there with all of the other Hall-of-Famers, applauding the new inductees. How long must we wait for this to become a reality? The punishment has been served. It’s time Rose visited Cooperstown annually the same way the rest of the former athletes and journalists do: as a member.

Redemption Takes As Long As Paying Off A Mortgage, Apparently

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:

It is my humble opinion that Kansas City Royals General Manager Dayton Moore has, thus far, done a superb job leading the organization. From day one, Moore indicated that the franchise would be re-built via pitching and fine-tuning the farm systems, and he appears to have kept his word. Coming off an impressive road trip, the Royals opened a four-game series against the New York Yankees, the hottest team in baseball, and the hometown boys did not fare well. They got trounced 9-2, 9-4, and 7-1 in the first three games, but they mustered a bit of redemption in the finale with a seven-run shutout victory.


Starting pitcher Jorge de la Rosa worked five and one-half innings before turning the game over to Zach Greinke and ultimately Joakim Soria; all three pitched well. And Alex Gordon was one single shy of hitting for the cycle. The team effort was refreshing and aided in minimizing the pain of the Monday-Wednesday losses. It was, in fact, redeeming.


Redemption is a word that often gets thrown around in the circles of sports and religion. I’m not sure what kind, if any, of faith Pete Rose adheres to, but I’m certain that the god of any faith would insist that his followers allow for a chance at redemption. I wonder why Major League Baseball won’t give Rose that chance. Is the league embarrassed by his age-old mistakes? Are the people that run it stubborn? Faithless? One would hope not. One would wish that those in power of the biggest league associated with America’s pastime might have some sense of good faith and forgiveness. One would hope, but 18 years later, A. Bartlett Giamatti’s ruling still stands. Pete Rose belongs in Cooperstown.

Eighty-six Bondsmania; Focus on 14

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:

Today in The Kansas City Star, columnist Joe Posnanski compiled a list of things he’s been doing since the Barry Bonds “watch party” began. The list is pretty comical actually, entertaining too, the last of which is “See Barry Bonds even come close to hitting a homerun.” In essence, he’s been biding his time, waiting patiently.


The Bonds saga is fascinating to say the least. Are his numbers legitimate because of steroids allegations? Should there be an asterisk by his name in the record books? Will the commissioner of baseball be in attendance when Bonds ties Hank Aaron’s record? When he breaks it? These questions and many more swarm anything and everything Barry Bonds-related. Folks are tired of the charade; they’re eager to move on, cover something else.


I wonder if the Pete Rose dilemma draws any parallels in your mind. His numbers are legitimate. Should there be an asterisk by his name in the record books that exist? Can it be proved that Rose ever threw (intentionally lost) games? Do you have a different opinion than your two predecessors? These questions are much more interesting than those associated with the Giants slugger. It’s peculiar that the organization has (one may assume) seen to it that Bonds breaks it at home, as well as giving him rest in the form of days off.


Bonds will, barring disaster, break the record. Maybe he gets up into the 770s before he hangs ‘em up. Maybe he comes back for yet one more year to pad his stats. I don’t know. Eventually, though, we must move on in baseball. Bonds will someday grace Cooperstown’s halls. A figure of this much speculation will be in, yet Rose, a competitor of such immeasurable influence, remains out. Once Bondsmania has ended, let’s end the ban on Rose.

Priest Holmes' and Pete Rose's Names Sound Similar For A Reason

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:

Today, my favorite-of-all-time Kansas City Chief announced that he will be making a comeback. Priest Holmes has indicated he will be with the Chiefs at the opening of training camp in River Falls, Wisconsin this Saturday. This is incredible, tremendous news. Not only does this give us the most dangerous backfield in the National Football League, it enhances our squad of leaders for the young players by a ton.


Through all of my excitement associated with this piece of news, I am left thinking of Pete Rose. The Chiefs made it very clear that they would leave the door open for Holmes after he suffered a neck injury via Shawne Merriman in the fall of 2005. Our front office, personnel, coaching staff and fan base greatly appreciate what Holmes did for the Chiefs and the community for the first five years of this decade. He was irreplaceable. He is irreplaceable. Sure, you can plug Larry Johnson in and he can put up awesome numbers and carry the team to victory on many given Sundays.


But he will never match the character displayed by Priest Holmes. Pete Rose was the same to the community of Cincinnati, Ohio, and the Cincinnati Reds organization, so much so, that the club brought him back after his stints with the Philadelphia Phillies and Montreal Expos. They even signed him to a player/manager deal and basically set it up so that Rose could attain hit number 4192 in a Reds uniform. Motions like this hold meaning for eternity. It meant a lot to that organization have that individual accomplish that feat in their red and white, just like we’re proud to have Holmes in ours.


Though circumstances are vastly different, the community of Kansas City and the Chiefs organization left the door open for Holmes. Baseball, however, has shut the door on Rose. I urge you to consider re-opening it.

Clemens, Jeter, A-Rod, No Rose? C'mon...

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:

I didn’t have high hopes for the debut game of the current Yankees/Royals series here in Kansas City. I did, however, have hopes. I hoped that the Royals, hot off their successful road trip, might make a decent effort out of the Clemens/Perez pitching matchup that kicked things off last night. And you know, they didn’t do half bad. Granted, Perez had a rough start and we fell down 4-0, but we were able to keep them at four runs for seven innings beyond that while chipping away at their lead with a couple of runs of their own.




It wasn’t until the ninth that the Bombers blew it open, the final 9-2. This of course, is unlike the way our bullpen has performed of late, but frustrating nonetheless. I admit that they’re the hottest team in baseball right now, and your boy Alex Rodriguez is tearing up the diamond everywhere he goes. Naturally, his up-the-middle base hit really turned things for the worst in the ninth, the dagger in the heart if you will.




I can tolerate the massive payroll, unlimited talent and gargantuanly obnoxious fanbase that comes with the Yankees. I don’t like it, but I can tolerate it. Hell, I have for this long, and we’ve managed to beat them on occasion; we even swept ‘em here year before last. Those were good times. Anyway, what I can’t tolerate are the decent, better-than-average members of their roster that will someday grace the halls of a Pete-Roseless Cooperstown. Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter…how can all of these names be granted permission prior to Rose?





It’s an outrage, I tell you, a situation that must be tended to. I hope that you can at least share the vision I have of Rose linking some of these player generations in baseball’s hall of fame.

Team Players a Shared Quality in Brett, Matthews and Rose

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:



Tomorrow night at Kauffman Stadium, Royals play-by-play announcer Denny Matthews will be recognized as this year’s Ford C. Frick hall-of-fame inductee. In addition to the George Brett Pine Tar Anniversary t-shirts, the Royals will be giving out pins to honor Matthews and his continued excellence that began with the Royals’ inception in 1969. When I was a kid, you almost assumed that everyone always played for/worked for the same club their entire career; it was always weird to see guys acquired via trade or free agency. Brett and Matthews both fall into the no-longer-existent category of being employed by the same club for your entire career.



There’s another guy that’s touched baseball in a great way, and played 75% of his career with the same club. His name’s Pete Rose. Of his 24 years on the majors, Rose logged 18 of those with the Cincinnati Reds. The other six, of course, came in the form of five with the Philadelphia Phillies and one with the Montreal Expos. That’s pretty impressive in my book, and Rose is probably a hero in the minds of most Phillies and Reds fans. He should be recognized as a hero to the game, and have a spot in baseball’s hall of fame.





Word on the Internets and in the newspapers today is that you will not be attending any games throughout the duration of the current San Francisco Giants’ homes stand. I’m curious how you will be utilizing your official time, then, and am optimistic that some of that time will be spent re-assessing the Rose situation as his place in Cooperstown is imperative. With all due respect to the ongoings in the commissioner’s office, I would like to suggest that the removal of Pete Rose’s ban from baseball be added to the pile of things to be done.

Baseball and Its Potential Four-Star Recipe

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:

July is almost behind us, division races are tightening up, and wildcard spots are becoming the focus of daily baseball conversation. In the city in which your office operates, the hometown Yankees are closing in on the Boston Red Sox; here in the American League Central, the Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers seem to swap first and second places as often as most hurlers vary between strikes and balls. The Royals are on pace to have their second consecutive winning month for the first time in ages. Speaking of non-first place teams, the Yankees will be in town for a four-game series, the second game of which will be the 24th anniversary of the esteemed Pine Tar Incident (note: letter from last Friday on this topic).



I was troubled this week when I discovered that the court case mentioned in The Kansas City Star article had a side note to it: It was the first ruling in which YouTube.com was involved/mentioned. Apparently, it was determined that Major League Baseball owns the rights to the video footage of the Pine Tar Incident, YouTube was contacted and asked to remove the footage (as per some sort of copyright violation), and they acted accordingly. Thus, I found it incredibly disappointing that Pine Tar footage was no longer accessible.



Not as disappointing as Pete Rose not being in the Hall of Fame, but, hey – apples and oranges. Everything is ripe for the picking. Barry Bonds breaks Hank Aaron’s record; the Yankees may not win the AL East for the first time in nine consecutive seasons; the Colorado Rockies are playing well, as are the Royals; your Brewers are on a tear; Chicago Cubs fans are beside themselves; Pine Tar Anniversary celebration will be commemorated by fancy George Brett powder blue t-shirts. Why not throw one more good ingredient into the big batch of awesome? Why not release the demons associated with Pete Rose’s past? Why not lift the ban on Charlie Hustle? It could be the ultimate recipe for continued excellence in the bigs.

Mike Vick, Adam Jones, Chris Henry Nothing Compared to Rose

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:

So Barry Bonds is three (Update: two) away from Hank Aaron’s record. Some folks think you should start attending his games as of, well, right now. Tough decision. If you go, you may as well acknowledge that Bonds goes in the record books asteriskless. If you don’t, you imply that you think he’s clean, never used performance-enhancing substances. The obvious choice is that you go. Bonds hasn’t been found guilty of anything, so you have to go along with that; similar to the way in which the National Football League is dealing with the Michael Vick/dog fighting scandal.

It would appear that they will let the courts handle everything and reserve any commentary/discipline until then, at which point, punishment, if necessary, will be handed out to Mr. Vick. And it is punishment that inspires me to write to you today. Adam Jones was involved in a strip club shooting where a victim wound up paralyzed from the waist down and Jones gets a one-year suspension; Chris Henry has been arrested like seven times in the last year and-a-half, he gets an eight-game suspension; Jared Allen and Kenny Peterson drove drunk and used steroids, respectively, and they each get four-game suspensions.

Vick allegedly has ties to these trainings, fightings and murderings involving dogs. If convicted, what will his punishment be? A fine, a suspension, perhaps both. And what about Pete Rose? He didn’t kill, maim, hurt, paralyze, use, drive drunk or any of the above. And he gets a lifetime ban? It’s not right.

Professional sports leagues are taking the right steps to make sure their high-profile figures act more socially appropriate. Rose committed nothing similar to any of these heinous acts. He should no longer be banned.

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.

Odd Pitching Matchups and Rose in the Minors

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:

This evening, Leo Nunez will make his major league debut as a starter for the Kansas City Royals as they face Tim Wakefield and the Boston Red Sox. Nunez has had previous stints with the Royals, filling in as a reliever in each of the last two years, but has been in the minors for the duration of this season thus far. This got me thinking about Pete Rose’s minor league career. There are some pretty impressive numbers in there, brief as a stay as he had below the bigs.

Rose’s three years (split between clubs in Geneva, Tampa and Macon) in the minors produces 301 hits, 12 homers, 191 RsBI, and a .312 batting average. That’s pretty impressive for a non-professional baseball player in the early 1960s. What’s also impressive is the pro career that followed, one full of accolades, achievements and awards.

I imagine there would be a number of feathers ruffled if you took the first step to lifting the ban on Rose, but I would also guess that a significantly larger number of people would appreciate it, even if some of those folks came from both camps. Please consider all that Rose did for the game, and that -- the example he left on the field -- which he has unintentionally continued to do for it since his retirement/ban.

Rose and Cooperstown are synonymous. Lift the ban, Mr. Commissioner. Please. It’s time for amends to be made, errors of the past forgiven.

Wilson, Rose Led Similar Paths

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:



Today I’d like to say a brief word about former Kansas City Royals centerfielder Willie Wilson. Wilson was one of my heroes growing up; it pained and confused me to learn of his legal issues, and his post-retirement distance from the club has been a thorn in my side as well.



A recent article in The Pitch, a Kansas City area weekly, discusses his desires to lift the gray associated with his name and the organization. He wants to shed his bitterness, embrace the brilliant career that he had here as a player and start a new one as an instructor; the feeling appears mutual.



Wilson was one of four Royals suspended by the late commissioner Bowie Kuhn in 1984. Wilson’s original yearlong suspension was reduced, and Wilson was the only player kept by the club. My point in bringing all of this up centers on second chances. If Wilson was offered second chances by both the commissioner of baseball and the entire Kansas City Royals organization, why can’t Major League Baseball do the same for Pete Rose?



Rose deserves another chance. Please, set a token model for forgiveness, and lift the ban. It’s far time Rose had the opportunity to remove the gray associated with his name and with professional baseball.

Billy Martin, Bart Giamatti Kick it In Afterlife, Chuckle Over Errors

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:


Though we’re still 11 days away from the 24th anniversary of the George Brett pine tar incident (note: hint as to what I’ll be writing about that day), but there was an interesting article in today’s Business Section of The Kansas City Star. Dan Margolies wrote about a legal dispute between one Leo Stoller and Brett Brothers Sports International, Inc. What the dispute was regarding is of little interest. Early in the article, however, Margolies offers this fine paragraph:

"Fans all remember that Brett’s dramatic ninth-inning home run against the
Yankees, putting the Royals ahead, was nullified by home plate umpire Tim
McClelland after he determined that the pine tar on Brett’s bat exceeded 18
inches in length. What fans may not remember is that American League president
Lee MacPhail subsequently overruled McClelland, and the Royals wound up winning
the game."

I like that term: nullified. I also like the brass it takes for a president to overrule what one of his colleagues has done. A. Bartlett Giamatti and Fay Vincent, Jr. are both respectable men, I’m sure. I continue to insist that no disrespect would be done to either individual were the ban on Pete Rose to be lifted. Margolies closes his piece with the phrase, “it’s a good thing that our legal system, like baseball, has appellate review.”



If baseball has appellate review, let’s review that August day in 1989 and re-consider the implications of Giamatti’s decision 18 years ago. Rose belongs in the Hall. I honorably request that you take the first step in putting him there. Tim McClelland made a mistake in that call, yet he continued an amazing career calling games. Why can’t the same oversight be attributed to Rose’s case? I suspect that it can, and hope that we will one day see eye to eye on this matter.

Hit King and Stolen Base King Should Live Under Same Roof

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:

There are two things I’d like to address today. The first, a story on MLB.com by Mike Bauman, discusses how baseball fans’ voting for the All-Star game this year was, on the whole, a more accurate reflection of how particular players were doing this year versus the athletes’ names alone as credential for a vote. The second centers on the New York Mets’ hiring of Rickey Henderson. Together, these news items themselves lobby for the lifting of the ban on Pete Rose.



The All-Star voting suggests what I’d implied in an earlier letter: Baseball, its fans and overall popularity are on the rise. I imagine it won’t be long before most, if not all, of the fans’ wounds from the strike and introduction of astronomic salaries are healed completely. Baseball needs those fans. Baseball deserves those fans. The All-Star voting suggests people are playing closer attention to teams other than their favorites, and the stats that go with those teams. This is a good sign.



Ricky Henderson has been in baseball as long as I can remember. Mostly, I remember him as an A first, a Yankee second, the king of the steal overpowering both. The Stolen Base King, they say. He stole those bases, including 25 as a 42-year old, via instruction, raw talent, and above all, hustle. Sounds like the M.O. of the Hit King.



Pete Rose and Rickey Henderson are two of a kind. They achieved what they did with perseverance and determination, two qualities all athletes should have and all fans should admire. Let’s aid those fans that are paying more attention to our game. Illuminate Rose’s path toward Cooperstown, for the good of the game and so that the knowledgeable fans can admire the Hit King and the Stolen Base King under the same roof.

Sought Employment or Not, Rose Should Be In

The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball
Allan H. (Bud) Selig, Commissioner
245 Park Avenue, 31st Floor
New York, NY 10167
(212) 931-7800

Dear Mr. Commissioner:

I’d like to discuss what a colleague communicated to me this week: Pete Rose wants back in baseball so that he may obtain employment as the manager of a major league team. This is the first I’ve heard of this, and I’m not sure what to make of it. By no means do I claim to be an expert on the man, however, I write to you today to suggest that if this is in fact true, and it’s this truth keeping Rose from being re-instated, perhaps a deal can be arranged.

The ban on Rose could be lifted with specifications attached. A clause, similar to one’s in National Football League athlete contracts (those who’ve had legal issues) can be worked into the negations implying that Rose be on a good-behavior trial run. Naturally, this would apply to his alleged situation in which he desires MLB employment.

What could (and should) take immediate effect, however, is the lifting of the ban that would allow Rose to be eligible for election into baseball’s Hall of Fame. Rose deserves to be in for his on-the-field play. His away-from-the-diamond antics are, in my opinion, a separate entity. If Rose seeks further employment with the league, let the current staff of league executives conjure up stipulations.

But let’s not let his athletic feats continue to go unrecognized by the generations of baseball fans to come.

The Hit Versus the Homerun

Editor's Note: With so little head-to-head baseball,yet so much ado about the game in general going on this week, it's time Cecil and I talk baseball again. This exchange bounces around the notion of Bud Selig's perpetual flailing, conspiracies surrounding A. Bartlett Giamatti, Barry Bonds stealing bases, and of course, Pete Rose.

Bankmeister: I figured our House of Georges project was kicking so much ass that I'd create another one, the sole purpose of which would be to monitor the actual letters I'm sending to baseball's handsome commissioner every week day. It's a very young project, but one I enjoy and firmly believe in, as Pete Rose's contributions to the game had a remarkable impression on my young baseball-oriented mind. Old No. 7 says he's squarely on the fence about Rose's situation/debacle. He says there's no doubt he's Hall material, but he's made a small business (with income) for himself by showering the world of baseball with propaganda regarding his non-election to Cooperstown, not to mention he's acted like an ass for most of his post-baseball adult life. What's your stance on Rose, the ban, the Hall? How does it compare to the Barry Bonds dilemna of today?

Cecil: I'm not gonna lie, Chief, I think you've bitten off a massive hunk with these letters to Bud. Soon, the reading public will start demanding that you live up to the missive-per-day conceit, and you're not gonna have any time to ogle internet boobies, dodge the chores your lovely new bride is assuredly laying on you or even shut your eyes for a few blessed minutes of that sweet, sweet darkness. But I see that you're serious.

And serious for a good cause. Unlike our pal Ol' No. 7, I'm with you on Rose. To my mind, the only thing keeping Rose out of the Hall is his own unendurably crappy personality. Baseball writers and executives loved Bart Giamatti. Rose lying to St. Bart was enough by itself to make a lot of those minds up, and he's only made his own case worse since. That hamfisted semi-mea culpa was just embarrassing.

Betting on the game is serious business, for sure, and I'm not suggesting that Rose be allowed back into the league -- which, ironically enough, is what he really cares about, so he can get another managerial job -- just that a Baseball Hall of Fame without Pete Rose in it is a sham, a piece of revisionist history.

I've said it before on the House: Ty Cobb stabbed a night watchman, climbed into the seats to assault fans, slept with a black orphan under his bed for "luck." Tris Speaker not only bet on baseball but likely consciously affected the outcome of games he played. Both are in the Hall.

I could be wrong, but I doubt that there's any evidence Rose ever tanked anything. He did lie about his original statements, yes, and the resultant miasma surrounding the situation is pretty effin' gamey--but call me naive. Tanking doesn't seem to be in his nature. This is, after all, the guy who earned the sarcastic sobriquet "Charlie Hustle" from Whitey Ford and Mickey Mantle because he ran out groundouts in spring training. Even a hardcore gambler bets with his own innate prejudices. My gut feeling is that Pete Rose would not ever have bet against himself, and thus, his team.

Bonds' situation is a tad different, for two reasons: his cheating is rooted in substance abuse and it took place on the field. While gamblers and gambling abuses have been present in baseball for decades -- and who knows what 1880s-1920s stats are whacked out because of it? -- the notion of our game and its sacred records being vulnerable to Better Athletics Through Chemistry jabs us in a different place. It feels more dishonest, even if, when it's all counted, it really isn't.

I know, it's a hell of a hair to split, but for Christ's sake, this is baseball. Not everything has to make sense. And, even though I feel what Barry (and Sammy and Mark and Rafael) did is a bigger affront to the integrity of the sport, there's no way The Head ain't going to the Hall. He was bound for a bust long before he took his first 'roid...and now that I think about it, that almost pisses me off more than anything. He could have broken Aaron's record without any of it, but did anyway, supposedly because a simple case of professional jealousy. Jesus. What a waste.

B: You bring up some awesome points. Bart Giamatti was quite a figure. He got Rose to "agree" on the lifetime ban. Here's what's odd to me: Giamatti sets up the ban, and Rose allegedly agrees to it. Nine days later, the commish's ticker explodes and he croaks in office, opening the path for his newly appointed deputy commissioner (a previously non-existent job) Fay Vincent, Jr. to step in, continue his pivotal role in crucifying Rose, then resign three years later. In comes Bud Selig, who gets appointed to some random title that might as well be called interim commissioner and he just hangs out for six years until he's finally elected to the actual position.

I mean, talk about crazy. If Jesus hates Cleveland, then God must loathe things that rhyme with "she a hotty." It's a scam. I can't point out exactly how, but it's got scandal written all over it. If Rose agreed, he was probably scared. We've all done that when the cops come knockin'. Nobody's trying to defend his assiness, and yes, the things you've said on the HoG are, to an undecided degree, worse than Rose's baseball-related flounderings.

I say it doesn't matter. He's the freaking hit king. His record-breaking single left him on first base alone for nine solid minutes. The world of baseball actually stopped functioning to recognize this milestone. The press was different back then, but I wonder if Barry'd hit 756 on that same day, instead of Rose hitting 4192, would, in your opinion, the baseball world've celebrated that feat to the same degree? It's hard to imagine without the InterNets, the masses of media, etc. that we have today. And of course the juice clouds everything, too. But I also am curious about Dan Patrick's interview of Selig Monday.

I didn't hear it, but Old No. 7 re-capped it for me, and basically it sounds like Patrick went off on Selig for not having a stance on celebrating Bonds' upcoming record breaker. Patrick had just announced he'd be leaving ESPN and, therefore, in ONS' estimation, he was free to call it as he saw it. Selig allegedly said he hadn't decided on whether or not he would be there. Patrick pressed the issue, trying to squeeze hints out of Selig that might reveal on which side of the fence he sits. Seven claims that it was ultra-apparent that Selig was pissed and didn't want to be there. Thus, my other question to you is this: How can MLB's commissioner, a guy who floated into the job 15 years ago, a guy who has "no decided opinion" on Bonds/steroids -- yet has been in office for all of the steroids upheaval --, uphold the ban on Rose, a ruling that almost immediately killed the guy that made it and left the dead guy's successor feeling squrimish enough that he resigns?

C: Well, I think the biggest issue is that Selig is a nematode.

How can he, in good conscience -- hell, even bad conscience -- not just nut the fuck up and be there for Barry? He rode shotgun throughout the Steroid era, he colluded in Fehr's strike, he looks like a cross between Stephen Hawking and Hitler.

Everything Selig does, he does wrong: The tie at the All-Star game; pussyfooting around the obvious performance-enhancing drug issues in the sport he's supposedly watchdoggin'; making mealy-mouthed excuses about the same; installing a toothless drug enforcement plan and then preening about it -- everything. He is, as I said recently about Bernie Bickerstaff in an extraordinarily well-read HoG post, the anti-Midas. Whatever his leprositic mitts grab goes fecal.

And what's up with bitching about Giambi's big mouth and then pushing him to testify? I am at a serious loss to understand the inner workings of MLB's management. It's all reactive. They let problems fester until they're huge, pustulent boils and then try lancing 'em with a grapefruit spoon.

Oh, and yeah -- I think there's some Warren Commission shit going on with mysterious croaking of A. Bartlett. I hadn't really even ever thought about it until now...and suddenly...it just seems so reasonable...or maybe that's the ether.

B: Right. Ether will do that. Interesting Warren Commission reference. I dig it. What about the Rose celebration versus the upcoming Bonds one? Which is bigger, from the global baseball fan perspective?

C: Globally? Barry. He's a bigger "star," as it were. It's tough to compare because the era is so different. Who's to say Petey wouldn't have had his own reality show? But even as sport-crazy as we have been in this past century, we're at a place now where people are famous simply because they're famous, ala Paris Hilton. Barry's outsized melon is probably the most recognizable feature of American baseball to a worldwide audience, with a few specific exceptions in Japan and the Caribbean.

And the home run mark is seen as a bigger deal, I think. I personally don't think it is, by any stretch, but I think the roundball cognoscenti tend to believe in 755 as THE record. Eh. Sure, it's only been reached by two guys -- three, if you count Josh Gibson, which you should, even if no one does -- but as I've said before on the House, I think what Rose and Cobb did is more impressive overall.

Of course, since Hank Aaron also had something on the order of 3,800 hits -- exact number I'm too lazy to Google -- it's not hard to put The Hammer at the top of the all-time slugger pack, right ahead of Ted Williams and Willie Mays.

B: You touched on the exact point I was hoping you might. You're definitely right about Bonds being a bigger global baseball figure. From a nuts-and-bolts baseball fan perspective, though, the hit record is way huger. I know from our exchange here you didn't play a lot of baseball. I'm curious how much of the fundamentals -- the actual focus/vision, stance, grip, swing, feet positioning, weight shifting, follow through, etc. -- of hitting a baseball are stored in your noggin.

In 11 years of playing ball, no coach ever told me to go up there and crush one to deep left-center. No coach ever told any kid on any of my teams that. It was all about practicing good technique, seeing the bat hit the ball, making contact, and getting base hits. Now, if you're good at all of those things, homeruns will happen on occasion. Homerun, however, happens to start with the letter "h," as does hype, an idea we're cramming down the throats of all our sports and athletes. The NHL recently changed some of their rules to allow for more scoring. The NFL is constantly altering things like pass interference, which allows for big plays. The NBA has turned into an atrocious no-defense-playing dunk fest, and MLB prays that chicks will continue digging the long ball.

I say fooey on it all. The two-line pass in hockey meant you had to pass crisply and cleanly, not score more breakaway goals. In football, smash-mouth, nose-to-nose grinding was how guys like Dick Butkus and Larry Csonka became legends. Look at Magic, Kareem and Bird. They busted their buns up and down that court every night, and in baseball, getting on base was the fundamental to winning games. Thus, the accomplishments of Williams, Mays and company are always bigger than those of some Head that can't run.

C: And the shame of it is that the Head could run. He actually stole more than 50 bases on at least one occasion when he was with Pittsburgh, but let that all go for the bulk. As far as myself, I wasn't much of a hitter ever, even in my -- let's see, 7 years? 8 years? something like that -- of playing organized ball. I was a pretty good baserunner/stealer, but that had a lot more to do with the fact that catchers could barely reach second base with their throws at that age. In any case, swingin' for the fences was hardly my thing. I was all about contact. Frankly, it was usually all I could do to make contact. I haven't been to a batting cage in years. I should go and see how bad it's gotten.

Besides, in my experience, chicks often dig a shorter, more easily ignored ball.

B: Indeed they do. Keep us posted on those cage results.

Giamatti, Vincent, Jr. Leave Carbon Print a la Bush, Bush Jr.

The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball
Allan H. (Bud) Selig, Commissioner
245 Park Avenue, 31st Floor
New York, NY 10167
(212) 931-7800

Dear Mr. Commissioner:

I understand that yesterday’s interview with Dan Patrick was intense. Everybody wants to know your thoughts on Barry Bonds, and whether or not you plan to attend his record-breaking homerun. I’m one of those people, but I’d gladly settle for some other information instead.


What I would like to know is this: How has the ban on Pete Rose, a decision made by a man who would be dead nine days later, lasted this long? I have no reason to disrespect the late Mr. Giamatti. I’m curious as to the bizarreness of his creation of an assistant deputy commissioner position, his appointing of Fay Vincent, Jr. to that post, and Vincent’s immediate succession. I know there were unanimous votes involved, etc. It’s a very strange lineage of events, though.



Nevertheless, in comes Vincent, sailing on the momentum of pounding away at Pete Rose, and, three years later he resigns. Odd again. You, Mr. Selig, become chair of the Major League Executive Council and maintain that position for six years until your ultimate election to commissionership. And baseball, since that election, has gone through the roof. The strike-shortened season. Steroids is out of control, what with book publishings, congressional hearings, and guys ratting each other out. Revenue sharing, while a novel idea for the league, isn’t being used properly. The All-Star game determines home-field advantage in the World Series. There was a tie All-Star game. These are just a few of the hot topics spanning your tenure as baseball’s main man.



Yet Giamatti’s ban still stands. I don’t think it would be a disgrace to him if you lifted it. Have you spoken with Vincent about it? How can lifting it worsen baseball? Is this a battle of stubbornness? Is it a dual over something with one of the strangest track records in human existence? Let’s bury this issue once and for all. Take the right first step, Mr. Commissioner.




Help put Rose in Cooperstown.

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.

Acknowledged Errors Versus Perpetual Punishment

July 6, 2007

The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball
Allan H. (Bud) Selig
245 Park Avenue, 31st Floor
New York, NY 10167
(212) 931-7800

Dear Mr. Commissioner:

Two days from the date of this letter, my father, were he still around, would be turning 60. I, like many of my generation, owe my love for baseball, to my father. He taught me to hit, field and slide, but most important, he taught me to try hard in everything that I do.

The value in trying hard, and on occasion, hustling, became so engrained in my mind, that, as I matured, I knew my dad, a man of many good qualities, would never be disappointed in me as long as he knew that I tried. That said, he, like the rest of us, had his share of faults. When he died though, those faults were not what people remembered, and the faults are far from what people are reminded of when they think of him today. His loved ones recognize that all people, no matter how good at heart, make mistakes.

I posit that Pete Rose is no different. He made mistakes. He furthered his mistakenness by trying to bury his errors. In life, as we all well know, you’re allowed second chances, sometimes more.

I am of the firm belief that holding a lifetime ban from baseball over Pete Rose is a poor message for the youth of today. We’re all certain of the magnitude Rose’s on-the-field accomplishments, but very few know of the good things he did off the field; his name is tarnished by his poor decisions. Is that how we want our young baseball fans of today and tomorrow to view their own lives?

Absolutely not. Pete Rose, when his time on Earth has ended, should not be remembered for his bad judgment, but for what he stood for as an athlete, a role model for American youth.

Hasn’t the man suffered enough? He deserves to be enshrined, and you wield the power to make that happen. It’s time we looked at the other side of the coin, Mr. Commissioner. Please. Lift the ban.

Routine Grounders and the Big Papiesque Laziness That Follows

July 5, 2007

The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball
Allan H. (Bud) Selig, Commissioner
245 Park Avenue, 31st Floor
New York, NY 10167
(212) 931-7800


Dear Mr. Commissioner:

Last night’s game was, though the home team got shutout, a blast. Among the things my wife and I discussed were: the difference between the windup and the stretch (again); how not to try and force your mitt closed when catching a ball (we tossed it around in the lot prior to the game, in a light rain, mind you); why left-handed hitters struggle against left-handed pitchers (righty vs. righty, too); and why even guys we really like, like Mark Teahen, don’t run full steam down the base path on every routine infield grounder.


Teahen was thrown out at first last night, when Seattle’s third baseman made, after bobbling, a nice cross-body delivery. Milliseconds after the first baseman’s mitt closed around the ball, Teahen’s left foot touched the home-plate side of the bag, and he went nary an inch further toward right field.



I turned to my wife and asked her if she could name one guy that would’ve been safe on that exact same play based on hustle versus natural speed, and she answered me correctly.


Pete Rose.


There were hundreds, if not thousands (announced attendance: 27,497) of kids at the stadium last night. I loathe thinking of them asking their parents why hitters don’t try harder when they run to first. I also relish in the joy of a father turning to his son on their trip to Cooperstown and saying, “That guy, son. Right there. Number 14. That’s Charlie Hustle. He would’ve been safe on that Fourth-of-July groundout by Teahen.”


I’m not suggesting that un-banning Rose from baseball results in all big leaguers across the board trying harder. That would be asinine. However, it might have an effect on some. Isn’t that worth something? Please, Mr. Commissioner. For the kids. Lift the ban.

Hot Dogs, Fireworks, and Beer... oh, and Pete Rose in Cooperstown

July 4, 2007

The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball
Allan H. (Bud) Selig, Commissioner
245 Park Avenue, 31st Floor
New York, NY 10167
(212) 931-7800

Dear Mr. Commissioner:

This evening, my wife and I will take in our second Royals game of the season, and hope for a sweep of the baffled Mariners. Our first game was opening day, our first opening day, to boot. It may seem odd that, at the halfway point of the season, we’re only journeying to “the K” for our second time, but we’ve had a busy spring with things like my graduation, our wedding/honeymoon, a move, etc. Not to mention the fact that she’s in school.

Luckily, thanks to her dad, she grew up a Royals fan. Like football games we watch, she still has a lot to learn about the game, but she’s always eager for the knowledge, and glad to learn it from me. When I tell her about my last game with my late father (Cal Ripken, Jr’s last at Kauffman), I long for the importance of that monumental experience to flow from me into her, for her to experience it vicariously.

I hope for our unborn children to be baseball fans, and it would be great to have my wife and her knowledge paired with mine so that we can be great teachers of the game.

In my estimation, the necessary tools for such education are not all present without Pete Rose in baseball’s Hall of Fame. Pete Rose goes with baseball the way the Fourth of July goes with American families and potato salad. Please consider lifting the ban. Think about Canadian parents spending time with their children on Canada Day. Imagine them telling stories of life as a hockey fan and not being able to use the words “Wayne” or “Gretzky”. Pete Rose, America, and Cooperstown. That has a nice ring to it.

Opening Letter

July 3, 2007

The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball
Allan H. (Bud) Selig, Commissioner
245 Park Avenue, 31st Floor
New York, NY 10167
(212) 931-7800

Dear Mr. Commissioner:

I’m writing to you as a lifelong fan of the game of baseball, Major League Baseball and the Kansas City Royals. Baseball is again on the rise in our country. I think many fans’ wounds are healing from the soured experience of the strike-shortened season of 1994. Folks are accepting the revenue sharing, and developing a small understanding of the astronomical financial situations within the game. These are but few of the issues your league deals with on a daily basis. Athlete behavior both on and off the field, manager personality quirks and slip-ups, speculations of performance-enhancement usage are all topics that swirl media outlets. None of these, however, are the reason for my letter.

I believe that, all hometown dreams and biases aside, there is one figure that set the bar for my appreciation of the game as a child, a measuring stick I still hold firm today. That figure is none other than Pete Rose.

Perhaps a tired topic for you and your colleagues, but most folks don’t care that he bet on baseball; most folks are aware that other former MLB athletes bet on baseball throughout their careers. Most folks know that Rose can be a jerk, that he spent far too much time lying when he could’ve simply told the truth.

I say, let the errors of this man be a thing of the past. Give baseball the push that could send it over the edge in this time of resurgence. Unban the man. At least make him eligible. No single figure -- not even George Brett -- has had a greater influence on my view of how the game should be played. I posit there are many others out there that feel the same. The things he is guilty of are small apples compared to some of the happenings in the National Football League and the National Basketball Association.

I beg you to consider at least taking the first step. Let today’s and tomorrow’s kids see Rose’s name in the record books, in Cooperstown.