'Passage of time'

Selig, Rose talks ongoing for more than a year

Rose's return? CNNSI.com's Mike Fish Former commissioner Fay Vincent says we should all be wary of buying into Pete Rose's act too easily.  SI's Kostya Kennedy If it weren't for an inane rule by the Hall of Fame's board of directors, the Pete Rose debate wouldn't be so complex.  CNNSI.com's John Donovan The fans, it seems, forgave Pete Rose a long time ago. The question now is this: Can baseball?  SI Flashback The Dowd Report concludes that Rose bet on the Cincinnati Reds. One key figure gave SI his account of how he booked some of Rose's action.  One Man Out On the 10-year anniversary of Rose's lifetime suspension from major league baseball, CNNSI.com revisited the evidence used to banish Rose.

NEW YORK (AP) -- There were standing ovations at World Series games and chants of "Pete! Pete!" at Cooperstown. But time itself -- 13 long years -- may have done more to change Bud Selig's mind about even talking to Pete Rose and possibly ending the hit king's lifetime ban from baseball.

The negotiations between Rose and the commissioner have been going on for more than a year, according to a high-ranking baseball official.

The talks, which had been secret until this week, became public following a meeting between Rose and Selig last month in Milwaukee.

Several baseball officials, all speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the sides appeared to be working their way toward a deal in recent weeks, but no agreement had been reached to end the ban, which Rose agreed to in August 1989 following an investigation of his gambling.

Selig wants Rose to admit he bet on baseball as part of any agreement, and Rose has been pushed to make the admission by Hall of Famers Joe Morgan and Mike Schmidt. At the meeting last month, Schmidt was among those in attendance.

Selig had long opposed an end to the ban but allowed talks to start around the time of the 2001 World Series, the high-ranking baseball official said. Asked what triggered the change, the official said it was "just the passage of time."

Reinstatement would make Rose eligible for the Hall of Fame, and that mere possibility angered Hall member Bob Feller, a fellow Ohioan who has been vocal in his opposition to ending the ban.

"It's a publicity stunt by him and his people," Feller said Wednesday. "I'm tired of talking about it. I'm fed up. He's history."

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Feller was among a group of Hall of Famers who threatened to walk out of ceremonies at Cooperstown in 2000 if Cincinnati Reds broadcaster Marty Brennaman had used his induction speech to campaign for Rose.

In addition to becoming eligible for the Hall ballot, an end to the ban would allow the former Cincinnati manager to work for a team.

Rose raised the possibility of managing the Reds again in June when a Hamilton County Commissioner gave him a tour of the Great American Ball Park, which opens next April.

Reds chief operating officer John Allen, who extended manager Bob Boone's contract through 2003, said the team hasn't considered the possibility.

"Bob Boone is our manager," Allen said Wednesday. "We've had no discussions with Pete Rose or major league baseball about what happens if he does get reinstated. It hasn't even showed up on our radar screen. We haven't discussed it internally. We haven't even thought about it."

None of the 14 others previously banned for life by the commissioner's office was ever reinstated. But Rose remains popular with fans.

Baseball allowed him to appear on the field before World Series games in 1999 and this year to participate in ceremonies staged by a sponsor. At both Atlanta's Turner Field and San Francisco's Pacific Bell Park, Rose was given the longest ovation of all the baseball stars introduced.

New York Yankees manager Joe Torre said Wednesday night that Rose should admit his mistakes.

"I certainly hope he can get together with Bud Selig and work this out," Torre said. "He belongs in baseball. He has too much to offer. He's such a great PR person for the game."

Reinstating Rose is only one of the initiatives Selig is considering, according to the baseball officials. He is thinking of having the league that wins the All-Star game gain home-field advantage for that year's World Series, moving one World Series game per year to daytime, and moving the start of the World Series from a Saturday to a Thursday.

Rose, baseball's career hits leader, has maintained that he never bet on baseball. John Dowd, hired to investigate Rose in 1989 for commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti, issued a report that detailed 412 baseball wagers between April 8 and July 5, 1987, including 52 on Cincinnati to win. Evidence included betting slips alleged to be in Rose's handwriting, and telephone and bank records.

Pete Rose Chronology
NEW YORK (AP) -- Key dates in Pete Rose's 13-year battle defending himself against allegations that he bet on baseball: Feb. 20, 1989 -- Rose, the Cincinnati Reds' manager, is summoned to the commissioner's office to answer questions. One month later, baseball announces it is investigating "serious allegations against Rose." March 21, 1989 -- Sports Illustrated reports on allegations tying Rose to baseball betting. March 30, 1989 -- The Cincinnati Enquirer, quoting former baseball security chief Henry Fitzgibbon, says baseball investigated gambling allegations against Rose in the late 1970s. Aug. 24, 1989 -- Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti announces that Rose is banned for life from baseball for gambling. Rose signed a document the previous day saying he is not admitting any guilt and may apply for reinstatement after one year. Giamatti, answering questions, says he has concluded that Rose "bet on baseball." Sept. 1, 1989 -- Giamatti dies of a heart attack. His replacement, Fay Vincent, says he has no intention of changing Rose's ban. April 20, 1990 -- Rose pleads guilty to two counts of filing false incomes taxes by failing to report income. Aug. 10, 1990 -- Rose reports to federal prison in Marion, Illinois, to serve a five-month sentence. Jan. 7, 1991 -- Rose is released from prison. September 1997 -- Rose applies for reinstatement but commissioner Bud Selig doesn't rule on it, saying he hasn't seen a reason to alter the ban. July 13, 1999 -- Rose is not invited to a ceremony before the All-Star game honoring the 100 players, including himself, on a ballot to pick baseball's All-Century team. Selig says "I don't think there's anything new or if there's anything new that I would do to change what Bart Giamatti did" in kicking Rose out of baseball. Oct. 24, 1999 -- At a ceremony honoring baseball's All-Century team before Game 2 of the World Series in Atlanta, Selig allows Rose to appear in the ballpark. Rose receives the longest ovation of any other player. Coming off the field, television reporter Jim Gray repeatedly asks Rose if he wants to apologize to fans for betting on baseball, but Rose tries to change the subject. Gray's contentious interview draws criticism from players and fans. Sept. 22, 2002 -- At the closing ceremony at Cinergy Field, former Reds pitcher Tom Browning spray-paints a red No. 14 on pitcher's mound as the stadium erupts in chants of "Pete! Pete!" Sept. 23, 2002 -- Rose organizes his own celebrity softball game to bid farewell to Cinergy Field, where he made so much history. More than 40,000 fans show up to watch him and Johnny Bench, Tony Perez, Joe Morgan and other celebrities. One sign in the stands reads, "Rose in the Hall. Bet on it." Oct. 22, 2002 -- During a promotion of baseball's "most memorable moments" before Game 4 of the World Series, Rose receives a 70-second standing ovation and chants of "Hall of Fame!" from the crowd at Pacific Bell Park. Nov. 25, 2002 -- Rose and Selig meet secretly in Milwaukee about the career hits leader's reinstatement to the game.

 

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