06-26-2021, 07:26 PM
(06-26-2021, 12:23 PM)ChadR Wrote: Just got back from a 10 day vacation in Cancun. Glad I didn't have to witness my Rangers going 3-7 while we were gone.Hardest thing in my baseball life. He was baseball Jesus to me and I watched him play since I was 8 years old. For some years I really wanted to believe he was innocent. Most of the Reds greats avoided the subject and I came to grips with the truth. 20 years later I was on a deployment and there was his new book. "My Prison Without Bars". I believe this was the first time he admitted to betting on baseball. It was a pathetic piece of work. He did apologize throughout the book, then undermined it with justification paragraphs after every "apology". I'm quite convinced he isn't mentally right. If anyone had a chance to be re-instated it was probably him. (Not in a playing or managing capacity). He flat out lied to the commissioner and stuck to his story from nearly 20 years. It was pretty bold for him to even request a re-instatement hearing with the commissioner a few years back. I was surprised they humored him when he was still in business arrangements with gambling establishments at the time. I hope I never see the transcript.
With Rose, it's hard to feel sorry for someone who won't admit he's wrong and will try to justify his bad actions and decisions. He was one of the greatest, but like Shoeless Joe, he will only set foot in the HOF as a guest.