A Case for Pete Rose

I wasn't always a major Pete Rose fan. I acknowledge that he is a rather dumb, crude person. For instance, I've seen a signed baseball that he inscribed "To Sambo" (a term that basically means "nigger" to Rose's paleolithic generation), and his head-first slides into first base defined "stupidity."
But Rose is also humble in his own way. A few years I listened to an interview during which he claimed that he never really had a natural talent for hitting. Rather, he worked on his swing during the major league's off season in winter ball; he LEARNED how to hit well. He was quite possibly the hardest worker in baseball history. He almost certainly did not use steroids, and he damns the players who do. He was one of the first people who outed legendary pitcher Greg Maddux for cheating, as well.

It's time to put Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame. He has done his time. Almost every seemingly great player you can imagine from the last two decades used steroids. They have made Pete Rose's bets on the Reds seem meaningless.
Bud Selig, you know what you must do.