DINH DOONG

(Long Blog Disclaimer. If you don't like words, turn back now.)

I meant to write this blog months ago when Toby Keith passed away. It's no excuse, but I got busy, and it got buried in my list of drafts and I just kept saying I would get around to it. 

Well Pete Rose passed away yesterday, at the age of 83. And Klemmer did an amazing job paying tribute to him.  

He lionized him for his absurd career stat line, (something Carl also did a great job of doing again today), but like so many of the pencil necked sportswriters out there I really really really don't want to group Klemmer in with- because I really like him and think he's actually a great writer- he pulled the typical holier-than-thou bullshit they all do when talking about "the sanctity of the game" and whether or not Rose should be admitted to the Hall of Fame. (More on this later).

My original basis for this blog stemmed from being upset at learning that Toby Keith was being inducted in The Country Music Hall of Fame a month after he passed away from stomach cancer. 

Something I felt was indeed deserved (obviously), but a day late and dollar short. 

The poor guy died a slow and painful death. 

Could they not have pulled the strings in order to get him in while he was still around to see it? (More on this after my Pete Rose point.)

Pete Rose's recent passing has reignited the debate surrounding his Hall of Fame eligibility.  While his on-field achievements are undeniable, his lifetime ban for gambling on baseball remains a seemingly insurmountable obstacle. But the continued exclusion of Rose exposes the deep hypocrisy and self-righteousness that permeates Major League Baseball and even worse, the needle dicks that comprise the Baseball Writers' Association of America. 

I'll going to be frank: 

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the Hall of Fame is not a shrine to saints. It includes players who used performance-enhancing drugs, known racists, domestic abusers, and those with a litany of other personal failings.  Yet, Pete Rose, a man whose crime was betting on his own team to win, remains a pariah. This isn't about preserving the integrity of the game; it's about selective morality and clinging to an outdated sense of puritanical judgment.

And Bob Costas, as usual, summed it up perfectly this morning- this was "cruel and unusual punishment" extended to a guy whose entire life revolved around baseball- a child's game.

The BBWAA, the gatekeepers of the Hall, often act as moral arbiters, hiding behind the sanctity of "Rule 21" while conveniently ignoring the flaws of other inductees.  This self-appointed role as guardians of baseball's purity reeks of hypocrisy.  They are not priests; they are sportswriters, many of whom have likely engaged in ethically questionable behavior themselves.

And whose idea was it to bestow this power upon them in the first place? 

On what planet do we let the nerds who've never done anything, the shit talkers in the peanut gallery, decide who is and who isn't good-enough, or in Rose's case, worthy enough of an accolade? 

It's bonkers. 

Like the brilliant scene in Robert Redford's The Natural depicted, (Fun Fact – as an homage to his childhood idol Ted Williams), these assholes legitimately consider themselves "guardians of the game", protectors of a game that isn't even theirs. 

It would be one thing had they played the game they wield such power over. But most of them couldn't make contact off of White Sox Dave nevermind muster up the courage to stand in the box against Major League pitching. 

My dad and I were discussing Rose and his unjust punishment last night. As I was on my phone texting with him, with ESPN on, segment after segment recounting his playing career shortly, and then focusing on his scandal and ban. He sent me a great article from an Op-Ed that ran in the NY Times way back in 2019. In it, the writer David Brooks talked about individuals who are "defined by their devotion to an institution." He classified it as follows: 

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The rules of a profession or an institution are not like traffic regulations. They are deeply woven into the identity of the people who practice them. A teacher’s relationship to the craft of teaching, an athlete’s relationship to her sport, a farmer’s relation to her land is not an individual choice that can be easily reversed when psychic losses exceed psychic profits. Her social function defines who she is. The connection is more like a covenant. There will be many long periods when you put more into your institutions than you get out.

That was Pete Rose. 

Baseball was his life. Pete Rose was baseball. 

(Sidebar- I'll never forget him on Fox's playoff broadcast giving hitting tips to Alex Rodriguez and Frank Thomas, and their minds being blown. Two guys who were pretty decent at hitting the baseball, in literal awe at what Pete Rose was explaining to them about the science of hitting.)

I think you can say the same for very few people in this world. But they all have one thing in common, and that is a different level of greatness. Michael Jordan. Tom Brady. Dave Portnoy. All embody it. 

Brooks went out to point out a speech from an actual Hall-Of-Famer, one of the true greats at his profession, and a man of the highest moral fiber: Ryne Sandburg. 

In 2005, Ryne Sandberg was inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame. Heclo cites his speech as an example of how people talk when they are defined by their devotion to an institution:

“I was in awe every time I walked onto the field. That’s respect. I was taught you never, ever disrespect your opponents or your teammates or your organization or your manager and never, ever your uniform. You make a great play, act like you’ve done it before; get a big hit, look for the third base coach and get ready to run the bases.”

Sandberg motioned to those inducted before him, “These guys sitting up here did not pave the way for the rest of us so that players could swing for the fences every time up and forget how to move a runner over to third. It’s disrespectful to them, to you and to the game of baseball that we all played growing up.

“Respect. A lot of people say this honor validates my career, but I didn’t work hard for validation. I didn’t play the game right because I saw a reward at the end of the tunnel. I played it right because that’s what you’re supposed to do, play it right and with respect … . If this validates anything, it’s that guys who taught me the game … did what they were supposed to do, and I did what I was supposed to do.”

If we are talking about "playing the game", I don't think you can deny the same methodology applies for Rose.

As a fan, Rose embodied what we all want out of our pro-athletes. 100% always. Total utter dedication to their craft, and completely using up every single drop of the potential and talent God gave them and not us.

For crying out loud, the guy almost killed Ray Fosse in a fucking All-Star Game becuase, again, as Costas so aptly quiped, "Pete Rose played the game at only one speed".

Former commissioner Fay Vincent, who played a key role in Rose's banishment, has consistently displayed a sanctimonious attitude towards Rose.  His refusal to even consider reinstatement, even in Rose's later years, highlights the vindictive nature of the ban. Vincent, like many in baseball's leadership, seems more concerned with upholding a rigid, unforgiving image than acknowledging the human element and the possibility of redemption.

Just yesterday The AThletic got in touch with Vincent to ask if, even in his old age, and even after Rose's passing, and even after Major League Baseball has done a complete 180 when it comes to betting and is now in bed fucking the ever loving shit out of the major sportsbooks, has he changed his mind? 

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Laugh out loud. 

Nope.

It’s a little bit like the whole problem of drinking and smoking. You know, when we came along as young people, drinking and smoking had some sort of moral connotation, and gambling always had a moral connotation. Now it doesn’t. It’s legal now, where it used to be illegal in this country, and I think that makes a big difference.

Do I think he belongs in the Hall of Fame? I don’t think anybody who participates in corruption of the game as he did belongs in the Hall of Fame. I think there should be a moral dimension to honors. Otherwise we’re going to have to have the ceremony in prison yards, because we’ll have to have the prisoner come out of his cell to be honored in the prison yard. I don’t think that’s a good thing.

What the fuck are we even talking about here?

This isn't about condoning his actions; it's about acknowledging his contributions to the game and allowing him a measure of closure.

Baseball needs to move past this self-imposed moral high ground.  Inducting Pete Rose would not diminish the Hall of Fame; it would make it a more honest reflection of the sport's history, warts and all. It's time for MLB and the BBWAA to end this charade of righteousness and finally give Pete Rose the recognition he earned.

To deny a player of Rose's caliber the joy of being inducted into the Hall of Fame while he was alive is simply cruel. It robs him of the recognition he deserves and prevents him from sharing his passion and knowledge with fans.

If I had to bet, my money is on Major League Baseball "lifting" their farcical ban on Rose now that he's dead, and putting him on the ballot this year. I think the league needs all buzz it can get and as Costas and Greenberg mentioned, nothing gets people talking like "Should Rose be in the Hall of Fame". Well, currently it's not even a possibility. But should they lift the ban, well then it falls onto the shoulders of Baseball Writers and we all know nobody loves to talk and write about themselves and their underserved authority more than them.

I think that most people in this world are good. 

So I think that even as scummy as baseball writers are, most of them will have by now dropped their grievances with the man who never harmed them in the first place, and found some sort of empathy and forgiveness for the guy. Hoping that at the end of the day they remind themselves that he was simply human. Flawed just like you and I. 

And I hope he gets in. Even if he's not around to see it happen.

Which brings me back to my point about Toby Keith, and the blog title. 

Why do we wait until people die to honor and celebrate them? 

I guess it's great for their families, but why else? 

It's pretty selfish when you think about it. 

Honestly why wasn't Toby Keith inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and honored while he was still alive to see it? 

Can you imagine what an incredible way that would have been for him to go out?

A fitting tribute by all of his friends, and contemporaries in the business, paying tribute to him while he's still alive to see and hear how much everybody loved him and appreciated everything he did? 

Like Jason Aldean did at the ACM Awards this summer.

And it would also be a way for us the fans to also say "thank you!" 

Can you imagine if he'd been alive to experience this? 

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Talk about goosebumps. 

Believe it or not, the league/institution who has got this right lately more than anybody else, is the NFL. 

They did it a few months ago with Steve "Mongo" McMichael, and the New England Patriots did it this summer with Tom Brady. 

Something I wrote about at length here. 

I'll wrap things up now because you're probably more tired of reading than I am of writing about this subject. But I think it's tragic when people pass away and miss out on hearing how much they meant to people. Yah, it sucks for us, we always say "I didn't get to say goodbye" when we unexpectedly lose a loved one, but at least we get to go on living, remembering them fondly. 

Experiencing what I experienced at Gillette Stadium that night on June 12, 2024 for Tom Brady's  ̶w̶o̶r̶s̶h̶i̶p̶p̶i̶n̶g̶ ceremony was unlike anything I can ever remember or think I ever will again. You can laugh all you want and call me a quack, but the energy in that stadium from the amount of love emenating from 60,000 people towards one man (two if you count the raucous ovation Belichick got) was something I can't put into words. If I felt it I can't even imagine what Tom Brady himself felt. 

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The world is full of bad news. Life is tough. A lot of lows. A LOT of lows. 

We should do a better job of making a bigger deal out of the highs. 

———UPDATE———

P.s.- since posting this blog a lot of people have sent me Rose’s final interview, saying I should have included it in this. This makes it even more sad.

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