I have always been a fan of Pete Rose as a player. He played for the Phillies (my favorite team) and helped lead them to their first World Series championship in 1980. He also was one of the toughest, most hard working players to ever play.
Pete Rose hustled his way to collect the most hits in the history of Major League Baseball (4256). There is no way someone with his level of talent should be the all time hit king in baseball, but he made it happen. In doing so he gained a lot of fans.
After retiring as a player, Rose was on track to become a first ballet Hall of Famer. He would be enshrined in Cooperstown with so many other great players.
But Pete Rose never made it to the Hall of Fame. In fact, his name has never been on the ballet. Since his retirement, many players less deserving of Rose have made it to the Hall. Why?
Pete Rose bet on baseball. This is a major no no for a player, manager or coach. It was found that Rose bet on baseball as a manager for the Reds (years later it was found he bet on baseball as a player as well). Because of this Rose was banned from baseball for life, making him ineligible for the Hall of Fame. This happened in 1989.
For years Rose denied betting on baseball until he finally admitted to it in his 2004 book, My Prison without Bars. This year, the new commissioner of baseball (Rob Manfred) decided to again uphold Rose’s ban from the game. Manfred wrote that Rose still seems to not have a “mature understanding” of what he did wrong. He hasn’t “accepted responsibility for it.”
It looks like Pete Rose, the all time hit king will never make it to the Hall of Fame (although there seems to still be some hope). For a lot of years I have called this an injustice. I have said things like: “How can one of the greatest players of all time not be in the Hall of Fame?” “Can’t he get in and just have what he did mentioned on his plaque?” “There are guys who did worse things in the Hall of Fame than what Rose did.”
I have continued to defend the great Pete Rose. But I am now done. I have come to realize just like Commission Manfred did that Pete Rose has never truly owned up for what he did. He has never “accepted responsibility”.
Pete Rose is not the Boss of his life. He does not understand what personal responsibility means and that is why he is not in the Hall of Fame. And he shouldn’t be in. That is the first time I have ever said that.
It isn’t because he bet on baseball. Not because people have been out to get him. It is due to the fact that he has never grown up. In fact, he has refused to grow as a person at all. If you don’t grow, you go. This is true for Rose. He should never “go” to the Hall of Fame because he has refused to “grow”. It’s that simple really.
I will no longer defend this man who I have so long defended. I cannot do so when it is so clear that he is not the Boss of his life. I respect people who take ownership. I respect people who truly understand personal responsibility. That is not Pete Rose.
How easy would it have been for Rose to own up to his mistakes over the years? What if he simply would have apologized and worked to turn his life around? I think he absolutely would have a place in Cooperstown by now.
He could have just said, “I bet on baseball. I am sincerely sorry for my actions and understand that I have shamed the game that I love. I will work the rest of my life to repair my image and I ask for your forgiveness.” This simple statement and a change in lifestyle would have changed everything.
Look at Andy Pettitte. He took steroids (like so many other players have). The difference? Once he was caught he admitted it. He apologized. By owning his mistake he was able to continue his career and is still well respected around the game. People don’t have the opinion of him that they do of Barry Bonds or Mark McGwire or Sammy Sosa or Pete Rose.
So what’s the lesson here? When you make a mistake (as you often will) own it. Apologize. Learn from it and work to become a better person. That is called personal responsibility. It is something that is too often lacking in our world.
This whole website is focused on taking ownership and personal responsibility. I call it Being the Boss of Your Life. If you want to get to the Leadership Hall of Fame don’t follow Pete Rose’s example.
Commit today to Be the Boss of Your Life. Stop making excuses. No more playing the blame game. Take control of your life and take personally responsibly for your actions. This will change your life for the better and it will put you on track for the Leadership Hall of Fame, one place Pete Rose will never go.