Is Forgiveness Enjoying a Comeback?

Hello, hungry people.

And Holy Halls of Justice!

The Menendez Brothers and Pete Rose all getting a shot at redemption? And all on the same day?

If these kinda things happen in threes, might O.J. reclaim at least a posthumous membership at LA’s Riviera Country Club?

And, as a big-picture cultural shift, might the concept of mercy and forgiveness be enjoying a comeback?

Naw, probably not.

***

Still, so many questions, so much to unpack . . . about our legal system and murder and gambling and baseball. But mostly, baseball.

Let’s get the Menendez brothers out of the way so I can move quickly to Pete Rose, who once humiliated me in public in front of my wife and kids and thousands of other people.

What’s that? You want to cut straight to the public humiliation?

Fine. Because I don’t have a strong opinion about the Menendez brothers beyond the fact that they would kinda creep me out even if I didn’t know they had shotgunned their parents to death.

A California judge on Tuesday resentenced them to life in prison with the possibility of parole, which might not seem like something to do a happy dance over, but parole had previously been off the table, so yay! Or whatever. Let the lawyers and the courts and parole board work it out.

***

Now on to baseball, where Pete Rose is inarguably one of the greatest ever. Most hits (4,256), most games played (3,562), most at-bats (14,053), most singles (3,215), 17 All-Star appearances …

What’s that? You think I’m stalling with statistics, hoping you’ll quit reading before I get to the humiliating part?

Fine. Here’s what happened: This was back in 1991, a couple of years after Rose had been banned from baseball amid allegations that he’d bet on games. At the time, I was a columnist at the Orlando Sentinel and had been invited to play in a charity softball game featuring Rose and benefitting the Boys and Girls Club of Central Florida.

There was a big turnout. Tinker Field (damn, I wish they hadn’t turned it into a parking lot) was packed. I was on the team playing against Rose’s team and, when it came my time to bat, I enjoyed a rare moment of glory at the plate by ripping a line drive to right field — a stand-up double.

Rose was playing second base and took the throw from the right fielder. As he walked the ball in he looked at me and said: “Nice hit, man. Let me shake your hand.”

This was Pete Rose. The greatest hitter of all-time. So when he stuck out his hand, I stepped off the bag and shook it.

And he tagged me out.

The crowd loved it. The other players, including my teammates, loved it. Heck, even my wife and kids loved it.

As I slunk my way to the dugout, Rose slapped me on the back, one athlete to another.

“Dumbass rookie,” he said.

***

Rose was on a list with 19 other players, mostly from the 1919 Chicago “Black” Sox gambling scandal, who were ineligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame. On Tuesday, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred ruled that a player’s ineligibility for Cooperstown ended with their death. Meaning Rose, who died last year, could be on the ballot when voting rolls around again in 2027.

I hope he makes the ballot. And I hope he gets voted into the Hall of Fame.

Yeah, he gambled on baseball. While he was still playing the game. And although Rose claimed he never bet against his own team, rules are rules and we must all play by them.

Yes, this would be a perfect opportunity for me to turn the conversation to the rule of law and how certain elected officials are snubbing their noses at it and should be banned from public office. At least until they are dead.

But let’s keep it on baseball, shall we? Which brings us, as it so often does, to Today’s Poll.

Thanks for reading. I’ll be back here soon.