What's worse, Pete Rose gambling on baseball or Barry Bonds/Roger Clemens, etc. taking steroids?

ban them all they are all cheaters

Pete Rose was the scapegoat.... This whole steroid thing has demonstrated the double standard. Because while using roids, these players were bringing more and more fans to the stadiums and drawing in more fans, it was overlooked and ignored yet since Pete Rose's gambling wasn't of any benefit to the league, he was screwed. If Bonds records stay in the HOF, I think there will be an irrefutable reason to allow the all time hit king into the HOF.... It's an absolute travesty if he doesn't get in. They won't even put Pete Rose on the ballot because they KNOW they won't be able to keep him out.

Players are/were elected to the Hall primarily based on their individual statistics. Players who enhanced their statistics with steroids/HGH, etc. should be banned. As far as I know, Rose's statistics as a ballplayer are the real deal. His actions as a manager should not keep him out of the Hall. But I have a feeling he'll never be elected. I'm afraid that Bonds and Clemens will be elected. If so how about McGuire? Or Sosa? It's going to be a very slippery slope.

Agreed.

Pete Rose, albeit he affected the inegrity of the game with his gambling, did not nearly have the effect on Major League Baseball that steroids and it's most successful users have.

Plus, it wasn't during his playing days that he gambled, and the playing days are what he's being inducted for. Not as a manager.

Yes, well, the Rose Cultists are well-established as having a total inability to see him and his actions through anything but rose-colored glasses.

Alas Pete! Baseball's Wrongéd Man. Feh. He broke a rule, and a damned important one.

PED users, while not taking proud actions, did not break rules, the sanctioning body having failed to enact or negotiate any.

Rose Cultists don't want to know about this, though.

When these people decided they weren't big enough or successful enough to play the game naturally, at least they could fall back on "even though it's illegal by law, nothing in the baseball rules forbids it"

In every clubhouse, there are a golden set of rules banning gambling on the sport. Rose saw them on 4000 occassions (or so). Yet, when he managed (at least, although there is no evidence to suggest he gambled while playing, it's of course a possibility), he decided that 'bah, that rule doesn't apply to me, I am the hit king'

Forget that betting, even for your team to win, could put unneccessary risk on a player's career, you DON'T CARE about the game if you are fine breaking the biggest rule they have.

If you think Rose, who blatantly took a piss on those rules can do so without any consequences, then you don't care about the game either.

Rose should have known (and there by accepted) those consequences, so I will contend that he doesn't even want to be part of baseball or the HOF by his actions.

I agree...and Rose did the gambling when he was coach.

Pete Rose should be let in...and let the guy coach a minor league team or something.

No way I would let Bonds in...and if it proves to be true about Clemens, dont let him in either.

People need to remember Bonds was indicted for telling lies to the federal court...so anyone saying "if they arrest Bonds they should arrest Clemens" just doesnt know the facts.

Some will try to make it out to be a race thing...but again..Bonds=lies ....Clemens=didnt have a chance to lie yet...no racial issue.

cheating is cheating whether it is as a player or as a coach.

the records set by people on steroids needs to be removed.

if they let these records stay then yes they should let pete rose into the hall of fame. you do have players in the hall that were listed in the mitchell report as having used steroids

so does that mean they should be removed, yes it does.

I feel they are in the same boat.They all cheated and have to take the punishment for what they did.Get over it Pete will not be in the hall.If Pete gets in then so should Joe Jackson.

Pete Rose is much worse.

Any "real" baseball fan would know that.

Bonds and Clemens. What Rose did was AFTER he played. He should be banned from MLB for the gambling, but should be in the Hall of Fame for his playing skills and accomplishments, and longevity.