Ex-MLB commissioner has blunt take on Pete Rose’s Hall of Fame eligibility after his death

The death of Pete Rose on Monday re-ignited the debate about whether he should be taken off MLB’s ineligible list and voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame one way or the other.

Former MLB Commissioner Fay Vincent played a role in the former Cincinnati Reds manager’s agreement to go on the ineligible list. Vincent was the deputy commissioner at the time. When Rose applied for reinstatement after Vincent took over the job following Bart Giamatti’s death, he did not act on it. Rose’s reinstatement applications were never accepted.

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MLB commissioner Fay Vincent talks to reporters prior to the 1991 MLB All Star game at the Sky Dome in Toronto on July 9, 1991. (RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports)

Vincent, now 86, spoke about Rose’s career with The Athletic after Rose’s death was revealed.

“I think he was devoted to baseball in the sense of the game, and his effort was certainly intense,” Vincent told the outlet. “He had a series of problems relating to his standards for conduct. He made some mistakes as he came along, and by the time I got to know him and Bart and I dealt with him in the betting issue, it was really too late.

“I mean, he had formed his attitude and his character, and I’m afraid that he really thought that money was so important, and he was betting a lot, and he lost a lot, and I think the corruption problem in his life was a serious one.”

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Montreal Expos Pete Rose, #14, celebrates his 4,000th career hit with teammates against the Philadelphia Phillies at Olympic Stadium in Montreal on April 13, 1984. (Ron Poling/The Canadian Press via AP, File)

Vincent admitted that Rose’s death made the case for him to get into the Hall of Fame “easier” – especially with the sport’s embrace of gambling. However, he made his point on whether he belonged in the Hall of Fame clear.

“Do I think he belongs in the Hall of Fame? I don’t think anybody who participates in corruption of the game as he did belongs in the Hall of Fame,” Vincent said. “I think there should be a moral dimension to honors. Otherwise, we’re going to have to have the ceremony in prison yards, because we’ll have to have the prisoner come out of his cell to be honored in the prison yard. I don’t think that’s a good thing.”

He added that if Rose came clean in the first place, admitted wrongdoing and made an effort to deter young people from betting on baseball, he probably would have gotten in a while ago.