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The MLB commmunity continues to mourn the death of Cincinnati Reds icon Pete Rose, who died on Monday at 83 years old.
MLB's all-time hits leader was without question one of the greatest players to ever play the game, however, even after his death, his legacy remains a question for debate.
Following the news that Pete Rose had died, a number of fans, former teammates, and analysts paid their respects to one of the all-time great players. That being said, the conversation quickly shifted to Rose's legacy and potential enshrinement into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
The Reds legend received a lifetime ban for illegally gambling on baseball games when he was the team's manager. While some believe that Rose should be inducted following his death, former All-Star A.J. Pierzynski is not one of them, He took a strong stance against the idea on an episode of "Foul Territory."
"He should not be in the Hall of Fame, I don't care. You sign Article 21 when you go into every Spring Training, there is Article 21 on every wall, you do not bet on baseball... to me, he knew what he was doing, he just didn't think he'd get caught," Pierzynski said of Rose.
Rose more than earned a spot in the Hall of Fame based on solely his playing career. Over his 24 years in MLB, Rose racked up a whopping 4,256 hits, which remains the league record. However, it was during his time as the Cincinnati Reds' manager that his legacy took a hit that it would never recover from.
"To me it sucks, it's one of those black marks on the game but also, Pete did it to himself," Pierzynski continued.
Following a lengthy investigation, Rose accepted his placement on MLB's ineligible list. Although he tried several times to be reinstated and regretted his mistakes, it never came to be for the controversial star.
Pete Rose was able to be inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame
While Pete Rose was never able to get inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, he was honored by the club that meant so much to him: the Cincinnati Reds. After receiving permission from Comissioner Rob Manfred, the Reds honored Rose with a special ceremony in 2016.
Not only was Pete Rose inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame, but the team also created a statue of him sliding into the base outside the Great American Ballpark. While he did not live to see himself be reinstated by Major League Baseball, he did receive his flowers from this former club.
