Pete Rose's admission of betting on baseball will have little effect on the value of his memorabilia according to Sports Investments Inc. president Steve Wolter.
"It won't have any significant impact up or down," Wolter said. "His memorabilia is already at a high level because of the infamy he gets for being a modern-day Joe Jackson. He's gotten so much exposure from that controversy, it's hard to beat that. I'd like to say it's going to shoot up, but I don't think it is."
Nor will it drastically drop, Wolter said, even though Rose has admitted to betting on baseball, thereby losing some of the renegade quality that made his memorabilia more valuable. Wolter pointed out that Rose's 14-year saga of denying that he bet on baseball always will be remembered as will the fact that he is baseball's hit king.
"He's become almost a fictional character," Wolter said. "Like something you read in a book."
If Rose ultimately is reinstated into Baseball and elected into the Hall of Fame, Wolter said that would be a major event but wouldn't affect the value of Rose's memorabilia any more than the previous 14 years have.
"It's possible, but I just don't see that happening," Wolter said. "It will probably stay the same."
