Topps, the leading baseball card company, has topped everything. In a report issued by Yardbarker Wednesday, Topps has erased Pete Rose’s name on any baseball card starting with their 2013 season even though Pete Rose is the All-Time hits leader in the Major Leagues. According to Topps, the career hit record of 4,256 still stands, yet nobody holds it.
Baseball and Commissioner Bud Selig haven’t seen fit to erase Pete Rose from that distinction, so what is Topps up to? Topps is a private company, producing a product they hope the public and mainly children, will buy. How this erasure will increase profits is a good question, yet the card maker has yet to answer.
The company called this “a simple decision.” No real or even generic reason was given. No announcement, just ommission. Pete Rose is gone from all cards.
His name might be gone, but is his legend? No matter what he did as a manager, no matter how many apologies he has given or books explaining what happened: Rose is still the Hits king. Nobody can deny that.
Not baseball, not the commissioner, fans or the media. Not even the sportswriters with a vendetta against Rose keeping him out of the Hall.
Two factions are keeping Rose out of the Hall, and it’s not Major League Baseball. Yes he is banned for life, except when baseball wants to make money on him showing up for them, like all stars games or the World Series. So who is keeping him out?
Easy, the Baseball Writers of America and the Hall in Cooperstown.
The writers are on such a high horse they couldn’t even place Craig Biggio in the Hall one month ago. The same Craig Biggio from Houston it could be argued was as good, if not a better player than Cal Ripken, Jr, who was placed into the Hall on the first ballot in 2007, receiving 537 of 545 votes. Biggio finished well short of induction with only 60% of the vote. This argument will come later.
The BBWAA could induct Rose into the Hall simply with their vote. The Cooperstown heads could also induct Rose on their own. Yet both bow to the wishes of Selig and the MLB. There is no need.
It would be courageous, but correct, for either side to just do what should have been done years ago. Place Rose in the Hall. This would end the argument once and for all and not interfere with the ban.
Neither side will do this, because they rely too much on the MLB. Doing such a thing would be a “shot across the bow” in their eyes. Yet public opinion is such that Rose deserves induction.
Rose’s enshrinement would not end poverty as we know it, begin world peace or end global hunger. Hardly anyone outside the United States borders would care.
But baseball fans do. Topps understands their major buyers are kids and card collectors, not real baseball fans.
Pete Rose deserves the Hall of Fame. Until Pete Rose is in, Cooperstown is merely a headquarters for baseball memorabilia.
Not a true Hall.
Dave Mitchell co-hosts with Mark Donahue the UST talk show “Ohio Baseball Weekly,” highlighting the Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds. The Show returns on March 4th, at 9pm with a two-hour special. If you have a comment on this or any other article,email Dave at dmitch@ultimatesportstalk.com or on twitter @ohbbcohost.
