By John Erardi
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Don Zimmer, the Western Hills High School alumnus and former major-league player and manager who is now the bench coach for the New York Yankees, wants Pete Rose in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

But he stopped short of saying his fellow Cincinnati native and West Hi alum should be reinstated for the purpose of managing a big-league team again.

"Pete Rose did something that no baseball player ever did in the history of the game - he got more hits than anybody who ever lived," Zimmer said before a fundraiser for West Hi.

He was a featured speaker Wednesday evening at "The Meadows" in Addyston, along with fellow big-league skipper and West Hi alum, Jim Frey.

"Somehow, some way, Pete should be in the Hall of Fame," Zimmer said. "Whatever they want to do alongside his name (on his Hall of Fame plaque), or however they want to do it, is fine by me. But he belongs. He made a mistake (by allegedly betting on Reds games). I think he's paid dearly for it."

Rose was banned from baseball 13 years ago for gambling. He signed an agreement that said Baseball would make no finding that he bet on baseball games, but the sport's officials have treated him as though he did, placing his name on the permanently ineligible list and making him ineligible for the Hall of Fame. But now Baseball is considering his petition for reinstatement, because Rose is willing to admit he bet on baseball games. He wants to manage again.

Would Zimmer favor Rose's return as a manager?

"I don't like to get involved into too much of that," Zimmer said. "People know I'm prejudiced for Pete Rose. I grew up here; I played softball with his daddy when Pete was running around in diapers."

So, Zimmer would put Rose in the Hall but keep him out of the manager's office?

"The only thing I hope is that he gets reinstated," Zimmer said. "I just hope that he winds up in the Hall of Fame. It's not going to be my call what they do with him, what they're going to allow him to do. I just know I got goosebumps, I was crying, when they introduced him at the All-Star Game in Milwaukee (last July). People went wild."

Could Rose be trusted to manage a team if he admits he bet on Reds games while managing the team in the 1980s? If he makes a questionable move, might fans wonder if he has a bet on the game?

"I just hope he gets in the Hall; I want to leave it at that," Zimmer said. "When we start talking about Ted Williams, Stan Musial and Joe DiMaggio, we are talking about great, great, great players. And here's this little kid from Riverside that got more hits than anybody. If that doesn't belong in the Hall of Fame, there's something wrong."