Pete Rose argues he should be back in game; Penalties not strong enough for PED users

Pete Rose joined the show to talk about the chances he’ll get into the Hall of Fame and to weigh in on recent stories in baseball. He was calling from Cooperstown and shared his thoughts on several topics. Here are some highlights:

— Rose told Dan that he goes to Cooperstown every summer, but he hasn’t been inside the Hall of Fame in seven or eight years. When he was, he was a bit taken aback. “I was kind of surprised there were 15 artifacts of mine in the Hall of Fame,” Rose said.

— Rose said he believes he is good for the sport.  “I’m not mad at anyone,” Rose said. “I’m the one who screwed up. I remain today the best ambassador in baseball. …. It’s very easy to badmouth the game of baseball today, but I like to keep it positive.

— Dan asked if there was any other option besides a lifetime ban. Rose said the lawyers handled it and he didn’t remember. But he did say he thought he could get back in much sooner. “The last thing I said [after I received the penalty was] I can’t wait for a year so I could apply for reinstatement.

— Rose said that he thought he was making progress with Bud Selig: “A couple of years ago I had an interview with Bud Selig. And I thought it was a successful meeting.” But then it didn’t result in anything.

— Rose argued he certainly deserved a second chance: “The guy who shot the Pope got a second chance. The Pope meant to visit him.

— Rose once again said he only bet on his team: “I told my guy that I wanted my team every night. That’s the way it went down. … That was my first year without playing. I needed something. Managing wasn’t enough. I needed more.”

— Rose thinks players who get in trouble now should just admit what they did. “I was wrong and I got caught,” Rose said. “The lesson was if you get caught, come clean. …. They have endless resources. You’re better off if you just come clean.”

Rose thinks Braun got off lightly:  “In my eyes, he ought to feel fortunate he only got 65 days. I got 23 years.”

— Dan asked which was worse, PEDs or betting on baseball. “They’re both bad,” Rose said. “But baseball records are very sacred. That’s why baseball cards are worth more than football cards. When you do something that tinkers with the records of baseball … Wouldn’t you want to ask Babe Ruth or Roger Maris that question.”

— Rose argued that he played the game the right way:  “I never cheated the people when I played the game of baseball. I always put the fans first. That’s somewhat the reason I played the way I did. You don’t have bad things said about me by my teammates. … The only thing you ever read about me is I gambled and nothing else. I made a huge mistake. … I take responsibility for what I did.”

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