Four-time manager of the year Buck Showalter is the latest to weigh in on whether Pete Rose should make the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Showalter, 68, discussed the nuances of Rose’s candidacy during a recent appearance on OutKick’s “Don’t @ Me with Dan Dakich.”
“You know, I’ve seen the reasons why [Rose should get in]. There’s a lot of byproducts to this. It’s not as simple as going, ‘He bet on his own team and the time has come that we forgive, and people have done worse that are in there.’ I got that,” Showalter said.
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Buck Showalter recently appeared on OutKick’s ‘Don’t @ Me with Dan Dakich’ (Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports)
“But understand the reason. I know as a manager if I’m betting on the game that night, Dan, I may put too many good feet forward to try and win that game and not worry about tomorrow’s game as much. You know where I’m getting at? I think there’s a cause and effect on everything where you can say you’re going to do it, but having something on that game affects a lot of things.”
With money on the game, Showalter implied he might be more inclined to use his top relievers liberally, as the game he has money on is his top priority over the team’s future.
Using top relievers in circumstances you otherwise wouldn’t to win a bet might cause those relievers to be unavailable for the team’s next game, hindering the team’s chances of winning the next game.
However, despite laying out how betting on your own team may change managerial decisions and negatively affect the team, Showalter talked about how hard it is to believe that Rose already isn’t in the Hall of Fame.
“At what point do we go, ‘OK, forgiven, and let’s move on.’ I mean it’s hard to believe that our Hall of Fame doesn’t have Pete in it, and I think he served enough sentence, so to speak, and people that are so negative about it might want to look in their own backyard. None of us would like to have our lives judged by our worst decision, that’s for sure,” Showalter said.
Rose received a lifetime ban from MLB in 1989 due to his gambling.
PETE ROSE TALKS HALL OF FAME INDUCTION IN ONE OF FINAL INTERVIEWS BEFORE DEATH
Pete Rose in 2017 (IMAGN)
Rose would undoubtedly be in the Baseball Hall of Fame if his statistics on the field outweighed breaking the golden rule in the sport.
Rose is MLB’s hit king with 4,256 career hits. He was the National League MVP in 1974, was a 17-time All-Star, three-time World Series champion and three-time batting title winner.
Rose applied for reinstatement in 2020 and 2022, especially with legalized sports betting happening across the country. However, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred denied both requests, pointing to the Veteran’s Committee for any Hall of Fame discussions regarding Rose. Manfred also shot down any speculation about Rose’s reinstatement in 2023, as the league had partnerships with sportsbooks.
Manfred is reportedly considering a petition from Rose’s family to have him posthumously removed from baseball’s ineligible list. This would potentially open the door for Rose to make the Hall of Fame and make his conclusion about his enshrinement true.
Although he isn’t in the Baseball Hall of Fame, the Reds inducted Rose into their own hall of fame in 2016, retiring his No. 14. He made several appearances in MLB ballparks in recent years before his death.
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Pete Rose waves to his fans during the unveiling of a bronze statue dedicated to him at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati on Saturday, June 17, 2017. (IMAGN)
Showalter most recently managed the New York Mets in 2023 and went 75-87, and he was let go by the team despite going 101-61 the year before in 2022.
Showalter has also managed the New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles in his 22-year managerial career.
Showalter is 1,727-1,665 in his career as a manager in MLB.
Fox News’ Ryan Morik contributed to this report.
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