MLB's Rob Manfred on Pete Rose...

Fans of Pete Rose, a Cincinnati resident, Reds Hall of Famer, and former Big Red Machine star, may be upset by Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred's latest evaluation of whether MLB's all-time hits leader deserves to be in Cooperstown. Manfred was questioned whether fans' ability to make sports bets at MLB ballparks should alter how Rose's prior gambling-related offenses are perceived in a video from his interview on "The Show" posted on social media by the New York Post."I don't believe that the fact that the law in the United States has changed and that fans are now permitted to engage in live sports betting alters the rules or values associated with whether players should be betting on the game," Manfred said. "I believe that anyone who bets on baseball should be banned from the game for life." That's what it states, and I take it seriously. I have written and continue to think that the inability to labor or be involved in the game in such a manner that you can influence the outcome should not be used to determine induction into the Hall of Fame. After all, it is a museum. It is not a competing venture. And I don't think the true issue is whether I should remove him from the forever disqualified list because I believe he belongs there. The true issue is whether the Hall of Fame eligibility criterion should be the same as the standard for whether you're permanently ineligible to play the game. That is what I wrote the first time he challenged, and it is what I continue to believe. As a member of the Hall of Fame board, I will advocate for that stance, but that is a Hall of Fame board problem."