A post written over at Circling the Bases by Craig Calcaterra got me thinking earlier this week about Pete Rose again. I never saw Charlie Hustle play. I don’t favor the guy because he played for the Cincinnati Reds, my favorite baseball team. But I’ve always felt that Peter Edward Rose belonged in the Hall of Fame.

I take that stance because any man who has walked this earth and collected over 4,000 big league knocks simply must be there for the Hall to remain credible. We can debate about it all day long, and people can argue back with their points on integrity. It doesn’t make them right or wrong; I’m just telling you where I’m at on the Pete Rose issue.

Yes, the guy has failed to be totally honest and come totally clean. Yes, it’s pretty baffling what a liar he is and why coming completely honest has been so hard. The ship has probably sailed on him ever being trused by the fans of the sport. But the fact remains, the guy got more hits then anyone who has ever been born onto this planet. That means something to me.

I have a problem with this particular scenario: Mark McGwire will get cheers from St. Louis sell-out crowds when the season begins, but Pete Rose is still banished behind imaginary jail cell bars, signing balls and pictures somewhere in Las Vegas.

It just doesn’t make sense. And do these guys belong in the Hall of Fame? I don’t fully know how to qualify that question. That’s why I’m not one of the Baseball Writers of America officially. That’s why I don’t have a vote.

But both Rose and McGwire should be welcomed back into the sport because of their contributions to the game’s rich history, which I wrote about in the case of McGwire and the 1998 home run race.

If you don’t wanna put Rose in the Hall; you can make your case easily enough. But at least let him be back into the sport that he dominated for decades.

And that’s where I sit on this issue. Let it be known, let it be written.