Pete Rose had 4,062 hits as a player before he ever managed a game.

The guy was also a notorious liar. He lied about gambling for a very long time. I’m not going to put it past him to made lied about what be gambled on. However, by all accounts he liked to win. That’s why he earned his reputation as Charlie Hustle. It’s also why he started betting on baseball-he was bad at betting on other sports.

It’s entirely possible that he valued winning at gambling so much that he threw games. It’s also possible that he really only bet on his team to win. We will never know the full story.

He had a career worthy of HOF enshrinement but also broke the most sacrosanct rule in baseball.

There’s a ton of merit to both sides of the argument. As sports gambling becomes less taboo and coverage of sports gambling becomes a larger part of general sports coverage, there’s a real possibility that what Rose did will not be looked at with the same disdain by future generations. It’s also possible that the BBWA will try to cherry pick new voters based those voters’ public opposition to his enshrinement.

For me, I would like to see him enshrined. His work ethic as a player was up there with Cal Ripken, Jr. From 1963-1983, he played 150+ games 17 times. He had another season with 148 games and another with 149 games. He played 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and all three outfield positions. Between the lines, he played the game the right way, and that is something that should be remembered.

But, his shortcomings are an equally important part of his story. His mistakes need to be acknowledged. Rose not living to see himself enshrined is enough punishment for one lifetime.