a rose is a bad metaphor
so the pete rose situation has a lot of undies in a twist. t.s.o.a. didn't much care and was fine with him in the hall of fame until this latest round of jackassery on his part. now he has the following working against him here:
* he waited 14 years to admit to his actions and apologize, and then the apology is half-hearted at best with blame still being flung at everyone but the man in the mirror.
* his career statistics seem less impressive every time we look at them.
* he puts out his new book right as the Hall of Fame voting results are being announced. and have you seen the book? his name is in huge letters and the actual title of the book is all but pushed to the back cover. give us a break.
* peter gammons had his own change of heart and called him" perhaps the lowest figure in baseball in my 32 years of covering the sport." damn!!
pete, on second thought, screw off - you're a bigger putz than anyone might have hoped. i hope Selig let's you back in in two years so you can take your chances with the veteran's committee (who will never vote you in by the way), and that you never get to put on another uniform ever again.
Comments
I agree with every point, but you can't tell me that his numbers don't dictate a spot in the Hall. 4,256 hits! In your Bill James delusion, what doesn't impress you about that? Yes, he played forever to get them, but he still has them.
Posted by: Dan | January 8, 2004 07:25 PM
I never thought I'd see the day when Jamie uttered the words "didn't much care" about something connected to the sport he loves with an often irrational passion. What's next, an admission that football is better?
Pigs, start flying.
Posted by: Matt | January 9, 2004 10:40 AM
as long as you're talking about the months between october and march, football is better. of course, it helps when the patriots are in the playoffs. bring on the -15 wind chill!
and Dan, obviously his statistics are impressive taken as a whole and were it not for the other factors he would deserve induction. he played at a high level for a long time during an era when run scoring was much lower. he just doesn't have many seasons that make you say "wow". and he really milked it those last 6 years where was pretty much a singles hitter with no speed playing a position (1B) where big offensive numbers are an absolute necessity.
Posted by: jamie | January 9, 2004 01:05 PM
I know he sucked at the end, but I was just commenting on your comment about his overall career stats not being all that stellar. But, didn't we know this back in 1985 too? His career avg is over .60 points behind Ty Cobb's.
Posted by: Dan | January 9, 2004 04:45 PM