Pete Rose holds out hope for Hall of Fame

And while commissioner Rob Manfred rejected his bid to get back in the sport partly because Rose still bets legally in Las Vegas, the all-time hits leader says he still has a lot to offer.

“I’m not going to sit here and badmouth guys who are linked to steroids because they’re friends of mine”, Rose said.

“If I could change the way my life was lived, obviously I would change it”, Rose said. “But I worked hard at it and I got it under wraps the last, several, several, several years and I am in control of my life right now”.

Rose held a news conference in Las Vegas on Tuesday, one day after Manfred rejected his plea for reinstatement. “It is not a part of my authority or responsibility here to make any determination concerning Mr. Rose’s eligibility as a candidate for election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame (‘Hall of Fame’)”.

“I respect Mr. Rose’s accomplishments as a player and, as a result, I will continue to allow him to participate in ceremonial activities that present no threat to the integrity of the game, provided that the activities are approved by me in advance”, Manfred wrote.

The Associated Press reported that Manfred’s decision not to overturn the ban stemmed from the fact that Rose continued to gamble on the sport, even after the lifetime ban was enacted.

“Mr. Rose has not presented credible evidence of a reconfigured life either by an honest acceptance by him of his wrongdoing… or by a rigorous, self-aware and sustained program of avoidance by him of all the circumstances that led to his permanent ineligibility in 1989”, Manfred wrote in his decision.

WCPO will update this report from Tuesday’s news conference. Manfred cited evidence that Rose not only bet on baseball as manager, but also a player, the latter which Rose refuses to admit. Following more than a decade of denial, Rose admitted to betting on baseball – including his own games – in 2004.

Manfred’s decision, revealed to Rose shortly before it was released publicly Monday, argues that in two face-to-face meetings Rose failed to demonstrate that he understood the ramifications of his past actions – or even recall them accurately. It figures to be slammed for good now, although whether that applies to the Hall of Fame should be a separate matter. The enthusiastic fan went on for a solid 10 seconds, at which point you can hear a weird barking noise, then a mysterious thud we presume to have been said chanter getting pile-driven into a steel chair.

“I was hoping they would at least reinstate him to be on the ballot and then let the ballot people decided if he should be in the Hall of Fame”, Bennett said.

Kennedy, 33, is an Orange County native who played at UC Santa Barbara and supported the Galaxy in his youth. Allowing him and his ineligible status into the Hall of Fame would be like trolling its halls with a stink bomb. While Rose appeared emotionless, both Rosenbaum and lawyer Ray Genco appeared visibly upset when analyst and Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz said Rose appeared “tone deaf” when it came to his gambling. “That’s all I want”.