Tuesday, October 26
By Jim Caple
Special to ESPN.com
one giant puffy hand ... $9
one haircut and dye job at Supercuts ... $12
four betting slips from a 1988 Pirates-Astros series ... $400
one Hall of Fame plaque ... priceless
There are some things money can't buy. For everything else
there's the MasterCard All-Century Team.
Baseball continues to close Cooperstown's doors to Pete Rose, but
it found wiggle room for him on its All-Century team, all thanks to a
corporate sponsor and 629,742 votes from fans.
|  | | Pete Rose shares a moment with Hank Aaron and Stan Musial. |
Rose, who played almost two-thirds of his 3,563 career games in
the infield, was elected as the ninth outfielder on baseball's
All-Century team that was announced Saturday and introduced before Game 2 of the World Series. Rose celebrated the incredible honor of being
included with Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Lou Gehrig and Ted Williams by
placing $1,000 on the All-20th Century Team to sweep a best-of-seven
series with the All-19th Century team.
Baseball didn't invite Rose when it announced its All-Century
players at the All-Star Game, but it didn't have much choice this time. Unfortunately, Rose took this first official recognition in a decade in typical Charlie Hustle fashion. First, he blew off the team's press conference so he could make an appearance at a casino, then got miffed when NBC reporter Jim Gray dared to ask him about his gambling.
Way to go, Petey. While you were at it, maybe you could have sold
some autographed betting slips after the ceremony. The Commissioner's
office probably is putting your name on this winter's Hall of Fame ballot
even as we speak.
Still, the fans' loud and appreciative ovation for his
introduction Sunday -- they cheered him longer than Hank Aaron -- shows
just how popular Rose remains. People want to see him in the Hall of
Fame. And he could get a chance if he would just express a little remorse
for breaking baseball's cardinal rule -- as well as some desire to address his
gambling problem.
Instead, Rose continues to kick dirt and toss the water coolers
over what he sees as a bad call by the umpire, repeatedly denying he ever
did anything wrong. He expresses regret over the punishment but takes no
responsibility whatsoever for his actions.
"I mean," Rose complained to reporters, "Charlie Manson gets a
hearing every year, doesn't he?"
O.K., fine. If Rose feels that way, he should meet with Bud Selig
and find out exactly what it takes for him to get his case reviewed. Then
he needs to show the remorse, maturity and character necessary to follow
through on those directives. At the very least, that means admitting what
he did was wrong and then disassociating himself from any casino.
Until then, Rose has his place on this All-Century team, for
whatever that's worth. Rose's inclusion isn't the only controversy. The
team makes about as much sense as paying a credit card company 18.4
percent interest. Nolan Ryan over Steve Carlton, Tom Seaver and Bob
Feller? A roster with 10 outfielders? And Stan Musial and Honus Wagner
wouldn't have been on the team if baseball hadn't made extra slots for
them.
Even so, Rickey Henderson was so upset he didn't make the team
that he chose to stay in the clubhouse playing gin rummy with Bobby
Bonilla.
Of course, leaving out deserving players is the nature of any
All-Star team, particularly one representing an entire century. Which is
nothing compared to the task of finding playing time for everyone. You'd
have to be nuts to manage this team. Imagine keeping all those players
happy on the bench.
Sorry, Ty. Looks like you're sitting again. You too,
Ted. Sandy, better get to the bullpen in case Gibby needs some middle
relief. Oh, and Pete. Your agent called. Something about an IRS audit.
This is a special edition of Jim Caple's Off Base column, which usually appears each Wednesday during the season. |  |
