Tag: gambling

Pete Rose

Yes, I am sad that Pete Rose passed away. He was a legend and he was a great. I first remember him when he played in the 1980 World Series with the Phillies. When I was 11-12 years old I played on a Little League team called the Reds, and Rose earned his legendary status playing for the Cincinnati Reds. All of that. More hits than any player in history. Legend.

He also bet on baseball games. He claims he never threw a game and he only bet on his own team. He was banned from Major League Baseball for life and good riddance. He always came off to me as if he were an insufferable prick and I had no problem with the ban. No Hall of Fame for Charlie Hustle, even though he does hold the MLB record for hits.

Now that he’s passed, and it is sad that he’s passed for sure, the conversation is going to happen again. Should his ban be lifted and should he be allowed into the Hall of Fame.

I say no. As long as Shoeless Joe Jackson remains banned for betting on baseball, specifically as a member of the 1919 Chicago Black Sox team that threw the World Series (against the Cincinnati Reds, of course) then Pete Rose remains banned too. Rose was a brilliant player but by all accounts he wasn’t even close to as good as Jackson (who was a .400 hitter one season). Who knows what Joe could have accomplished if he’d been allowed to play out his full career. There is also very little evidence of him actually participating in rigging games. Hell, he had a great series in 1919 when his co-conspirators were clearly tanking.

If they lift the ban on Joe Jackson then we can talk about lifting the ban on Pete Rose. Before then? I don’t give a shit what anyone says about Rose. If Jackson remains out then Rose remains out. That’s how it needs to be.

I have spoken.

Now What?

The trip to Virginia is over.  The trip to see Rush is over.  The Bruins first round series is over and the next round doesn’t start until tomorrow.

Now what?  What do I talk about today?

Both kids have games tonight at the same time, so it will be a late evening out for Jen, both kids, and me.  I’ve seen my step daughter play in two games, and my step son play in one.  I want to see more.

Earlier this morning I discovered a sure fire way to spot an addicted gambler.  I was at a convenience store in Tewksbury that offers KENO games.  There was a car parked in the lot with a license plate that approximated the word, “SLOTS”.  It was also 7:11am.  Yup, I think I found me a compulsive gambler!

This weekend we are going to have a mini birthday party so there will be cleaning.  I need to get the damn lawn mower running so I can cut the grass.  I want to get a bird feeder to feed my inner bird watching nerd, and there is always the dream of patio furniture.  The catch with patio furniture is mosquitoes.  There have been do it yourself mosquito trap ideas floating around Facebook lately.  Maybe if we start to picnic we’ll try one.