Pete's power

The game needs Rose more than Rose needs the game

We may never know exactly what was said in the recent meetings between baseball commissioner Bud Selig and baseball exile Pete Rose to discuss the possible reinstatement of the all-time hits leader 13 years after he was banned from the game for gambling, but here's how Rose should have played it:

SELIG: Pete, we're prepared to welcome you back to baseball if you'll just ...

ROSE: Let me stop you right there, Bud. Don't expect to hear the a-words -- apologize or admit -- from me. You know why? Because you need me more than I need you.

People tend to like me, Bud, even the ones who think I'm lying through my teeth when I say I never bet on baseball. The public likes me even more than they like the sport right now, and they certainly like me more than they like you. Fans like rain delays more than they like you, Bud.

Rose Revisited SI writers on the news • Kennedy: Hall board clouds issue • Fish: Vincent still has his doubts • Donovan: Compromise will lift ban More Features • Reactions: Users | SI writers • Rose Chronology | One Man Out • SI Flashback: Case against Rose

Working out a way to get me back in the game might draw some criticism from a few die-hard sportswriter-types who think a lifetime ban ought to be a lifetime ban, but it's the kind of common sense decision that would win you major points with the average fan. It would be the positive public relations move that you and the game desperately need right now.

Would I like to be reinstated? Sure. To be shunned by the game I gave my life to hurts me in a way that you could never understand, Bud. I'm seeing guys go into the Hall of Fame who had about half as many hits and one-tenth of the impact on the sport that I had. I deserve to have my plaque in the Hall, and it's humiliating to know that it's not there.

But, in a way, being persona non grata has given me a different kind of fame. I've turned it into radio show hosting gigs and television appearances and speaking engagements, made a nice little living out of it. When the new Hall of Famers are inducted at Cooperstown every year, I show up and sign autographs at a place in town that's near, but not in, the Hall, and I steal more than my share of attention.

You see, Bud, as long as I'm a baseball outcast, I'll never fade into obscurity. People still think about me, care about me in a way that many so-called immortals can only dream of. Fans still talk about Pete Rose. When's the last time you heard anybody talk about, say, Dave Winfield?

Besides, it's not as if I'm ever going to manage again. With my rap sheet, even I find it hard to believe that any franchise would trust me to run a ballclub. Even if you let me walk into a clubhouse again, I'll never be in the middle of the action, making win-or-lose decisions in a ballgame, which is where I really want to be. Some people want me to have a lifetime punishment. Well, that's my lifetime punishment.

So don't think you're doing me some great favor by agreeing to discuss reinstatement with me, Bud. Don't think I'm going to come hat in hand, throwing myself on the mercy of your court. You have something I want, but not something I need. As a matter of fact, if you tell me I can come back to baseball, I might have to think it over and get back to you.

But anyway, Bud, I interrupted you. You were saying?

Sports Illustrated senior writer Phil Taylor writes about a Hot Button issue every Monday on CNNSI.com.

 

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