PASPA and Pete Rose
Lost in the ongoing debate surrounding the unconstitutionality of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA, 1992) and its current challenge by New Jersey in the Supreme Court is the simple fact that the major sports leagues that once vehemently opposed legalized sports betting are now on the record in its (at least partial) support. And when it comes to Major League Baseball in particular, a more interesting historical question looms: Could a PASPA overturn lead to Pete Rose finally being inducted into the Hall of Fame?
As everyone who follows the MLB knows, Pete Rose – the league’s all-time hits leader with an outlandish 4256 hits on a career .303 batting average – was permanently banned from the Majors after being found “guilty” of betting on his ballclub when he was managing the Reds. While Rose was never actually accused of throwing a game or easing up to drop a spread – and even though he never actually bet against his own team to win! – the powers that be in the MLB decided to make an example of the guy. And a poor example it’s been!
However, with attitudes around sports betting changing, and with league representatives and lawyers and commissioners all cheerleading for the financial boon that legalized sports betting would provide their businesses, it seems fair to ask exactly how far the MLB’s hypocrisy is likely to go in the face of what’s sure to be their own tremendous profiting off of sports betting.
LegalSportsBettingSites.com thinks the easy answer is that Rose will likely continue to be banned from the sport, and he will probably only be inducted into the Hall of Fame posthumously, which rather defeats the purpose of the honor in the first place. Still, should PASPA be overturned by the Supreme Court (which could happen as soon as this week), one outcome seems worth betting on, and that’s that Rose will immediately become a hot commodity in the broadcast booth.
At 77 years old, it’s unclear how much he has left in the tank, but it seems like a surefire marketing homerun (or, in Rose’s case, any kind of hit) to publicly pick his brain on baseball betting before every big game. Rose, no doubt, has a lot to say, and in this way, an erstwhile pariah – and one of the greatest ballplayers to ever step into the box – can finally get the acceptance and recognition he deserves.
If you yourself are like Charlie Hustle, it’s probably smart to pay attention to the futures boards at sites like Bovada and SportsBetting, because the minute PASPA is lifted (if it in fact is ruled against by the SCOTUS), expect to see odds on Rose’s induction. I predict then numbers will open at +2000 that he gets a Cooperstown plaque within the next five years (with the odds narrowing considerably thereafter).