What are the advantages and disadvantages of Pete Rose’s lifetime ban from the MLB and the Baseball Hall of Fame? How or why is Pete Rose treated harshly, and the MLB stands firm on his lifelong ban?

Baseball has a rule that prohibits players from betting on the game, with no exceptions. The penalty is an outright ban. Rose initially denied betting on sports, but later admitted it. Rose claims he only bets on his own teams to win, but the rule has no exceptions. This is not like the steroid issue, where there was a clear grey area about rules and enforcement.

But Rose violated the cardinal rule. And he feels the consequences of breaching the rule. The problem is that we don’t even have a test case for another modern-day player, one of lesser reputation and talent than Rose, who has breached the same rule, so we can determine whether they are being treated equally. However, the regulation is stated in black and white, and this is how it is implemented.

Will Baseball ever forgive Pete Rose? Maybe if he ever expresses regret and acknowledges that he done anything wrong. That is all it would take for me to consider forgiving him.

Given that Pete Rose is the only player who has been booted out of the Hall of Fame, wouldn’t being reinstated be the worst possible outcome? That will keep him in contemporary day notoriety. It keeps him in the headlines. Rose was not removed (or “kicked out”) from the Hall. Rose has never been considered a candidate and is unlikely to do so in the future. The Hall does not want him.