Forum… Or Against ‘em

At the All Star Game in Cincinnati this week, Pete Rose walked out onto the field. That is something he has not done for 26 years. As I probably do not need to tell you, Pete, who in 1985 set what is still the record for most hits by a player in a career, just four years later was banned from Baseball and the Hall of Fame, supposedly for life, for having bet on baseball games, including games in which the teams he played on or managed were involved. In his defense, he maintains he never bet against himself or his team. I believe that, but I also understand why Baseball could not tolerate what he did…
He is 74 now, a spring chicken compared to me, but an ancient relic of diamond glory gone by…
There is an outcry to let him come back to the game he loved and played so well. Baseball Commissioner Bart Giamatti persuaded him to take the ban, which has lasted through the tenures of commissioners Fay Vincent, Bud Selig and now Rob Manfred. He is scheduled to have a hearing in August in New York, with two attorneys, Ray Genco and Mark Rosenbaum. presenting his case to Rob Manfred for letting him into the Hall of Fame…
When I was a young man, I demanded justice. Now I am an old man and I ask myself, do I want justice or do I want mercy? I know I have done some things I am not proud of. Do I deserve justice? Or do I deserve mercy?
Pete Rose, in his words, “screwed up.” He has had a 26-year-long dose of justice. Is it time for mercy?

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