By By Chandler Myers
Major League Baseball is now pushing through the second half of the season and pictures are starting to develop in each division.
Several teams have begun making a push to get to the top of their division with the Atlanta Braves reshuffling their lineup and seeing positive results as they now sit in a tie for second place in the National League East with the Florida Marlins.
Both teams sit seven games behind the defending World Series champs, the Philadelphia Phillies.
This race should only get more interesting as the season rolls on as will the battle in the American League East as the New York Yankees now top the division with the Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays trying to gain ground.
Aside from tough races in all of the divisions of the MLB, one bit of news caught this eye, while combing various sports Web sites.
There were rumors bouncing around that Hank Aaron had dinner with commissioner Bud Selig over the weekend and pushed for the ban to be lifted off of the All-Time hits leader, Pete Rose also known as “Charlie Hustle.”
Rose has been banned from the MLB since 1989 when it was found out that he had bet on games, while a player and manager.
That ban has kept Rose from gracing the halls of Cooperstown, N.Y. ever since, which is really an atrosity.
Rose has admitted to betting on his team, the Cincinnati Red, but never bet against them because he “loved” his team. While it is wrong that Rose bet on baseball there is no conducive evidence that he ever altered that outcome of the game, which is what the “Black Sox” did during the World Series of 1919.
Rose simply had a problem with gambling and used his strong team as an outlet for it. This should not be viewed as something good, but it should also not keep him from being in the Hall of Fame because there is no proof he cheated baseball.
He is far past his playing days, so just keep him from managing or working in the front office for any one of the MLB teams.
His efforts on the field should not be overlooked. He worked hard every day to get those 4,256 hits, and to become a 17-time All-Star .
Rose hold several records and honors in the record books for the MLB, which still stand today. Records he earned without the steroids that cheaters used today.
How can a man’s records stand, but he can not be selected for the Hall of Fame?
Commissioner Bud Selig needs to seriously consider what a great thing he would be doing for baseball if lifts the ban off of Rose.
Odds are that some steroid users will get into the Hall of Fame and maybe with asterisks next to their names.
Why not Pete Rose?
The man knows what he has done. Give him a chance to earn back the respect he once had. Give him the Hall of Fame.
Chandler Myers is sports editor of the Atmore Advance. He can be reached at 368-2123 or by e-mail at sports@atmoreadvance.com