Tuesday, November 30, 1999
Rose gets shot to make case
His lawyer to meet with baseball VP
Enquirer news services
NEW YORK — Pete Rose, banished from baseball 10 years ago for gambling, will soon get a chance to make his case for reinstatement to Major League Baseball.
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ROSE LAUNCHES ONLINE PETITION
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Pete Rose was in New York for Tuesday's launch of sportcut.com., which through Jan. 15 will contain a fan petition calling for Rose's admission to the Hall of Fame. As long as he's banned from baseball for life, Rose is ineligible for the Hall.
“One thing you have to understand is we're not looking for a fight,” Rose said. “If that has to be an option, that will be an option. That's a last resort. I don't need it. The game doesn't need it.”
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Bob DuPuy, MLB executive vice president for administration, said he will meet after the first of the year with Rose attorney Roger Makley, who has prepared a detailed defense of the charges against Mr. Rose in 1989.
Mr. Rose, in an interview with USA Today on Monday, wouldn't reveal details but said he was “absolutely” encouraged by the developments. “Roger knows more about this case than anybody alive,” he said.
Mr. DuPuy said the league will review whatever arguments or evidence Mr. Makley presents, then decide the next step. It could lead to a meeting with Commissioner Bud Selig.
Mr. Selig has said several times that he has seen no evidence that would make him lift the ban, which Mr. Rose agreed to in August 1989.
The settlement did not include an admission that the Reds manager bet on baseball games. The agreement allowed Mr. Rose to apply for reinstatement, which he did in 1997. Baseball has not formally ruled on Mr. Rose's petition.
“If you find in your heart you didn't want to give me reinstatement, just write back and say, "No,'” Mr. Rose told the Associated Press on Monday. “I know he (Selig) has stationery. I know the mail is delivered in Milwaukee.”
Mr. Selig was out of town and couldn't be reached for comment, his wife told The Cincinnati Enquirer Monday night.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Mr. Rose, in New York for the launch of a new sports Internet venture, claimed baseball's lawyers “blackmailed” witnesses against him during its investigation 10 years ago. Pressed for details, he referred comment to Mr. Makley, who declined to comment.
Those who led the investigation at the time, Fay Vincent and John Dowd, denied Mr. Rose's accusation.
Mr. Rose said he didn't want to apply for reinstatement while Mr. Vincent was commissioner — he headed the Rose investigation as deputy to commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti and hired Mr. Dowd, who compiled the report on Mr. Rose's gambling.
“Fay Vincent wasn't going to give me a chance,” Mr. Rose said. “I have no respect for John Dowd. He didn't do an impartial investigation. We're sick and tired of him going on the air and talking about all this evidence he has.”
Mr. Rose also is angry Mr. Dowd put his report on the Internet.
“How much is he making on the Dowd report?” Mr. Rose said. “If I died tomorrow, we wouldn't hear about John Dowd again until the day he died.”
Mr. Dowd said Mr. Rose is wrong.
“We did it to educate the public, and we did it solely at the firm's expense,” he said. “We never charged anyone a dime.”
Mr. Rose was in New York for today's launch of sportcut.com, which through Jan. 15 will contain a fan petition calling for Mr. Rose's admission to the Hall of Fame. As long as he's banned from baseball, he is ineligible for the hall.
Mr. Rose's election to baseball's All-Century team and his confrontational interview with NBC's Jim Gray following the on-field ceremony at Turner Field have brought renewed attention to his quest for reinstatement.
He said Mr. Gray persuaded him to do the interview by saying he had “inside information” that would help Mr. Rose. But in the interview, Mr. Gray repeatedly pressed for Mr. Rose to admit he bet on baseball.
“Here was a guy that was looking for a feather in his cap,” Mr. Rose said. “The timing was not right.”
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