With an Asterisk

I just finished reading an op-ed piece in the Tribune slamming Commissioner Rob Manfred for reinstating Pete Rose and, in particular, Shoeless Joe Jackson. You’d think the writer was the second coming of Kenesaw Mountain Landis. Save the bluster for the living, friend. Yes, I think Jackson was in on the fix of the 1919 World Series, just as I think being banned for 100+ years is punishment enough. If a HOF veterans’ committee wants to vote Jackson in, that’s fine by me. Just make sure all the evidence pointing to his guilt gets included on his plaque. Same goes for Rose, a few years after if and when Jackson wins admission. Why? Because Rose was a jerk who’d make Ty Cobb blush over his excesses. In addition, there’s a good chance Jackson is enshrined well before a plaque listing all of Rose’s transgressions could be ready. The one that especially bothers me concerns the allegation he had sex with a minor in the 1970s. Pointing out the age of consent in Ohio—where Rose admitted a sexual relationship occurred, though not with a minor—was sixteen at the time hardly constitutes a defense in the court of public opinion. That said, all that included (plus maybe a video of the sucker punch of a shoulder into Ray Fosse at the 1970 All-Satar Game), let ’im in.