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.