THE PETE ROSE DECISION : MIXED EMOTIONS : Baseball’s Overall Praise of Giamatti Is Tempered by Sympathy for Rose

Peter Ueberroth, who began the Pete Rose investigation when he was commissioner of baseball, lauded successor Bart Giamatti’s decision to ban Rose for life Thursday but thinks Rose belongs in baseball’s Hall of Fame.

“I think Bart Giamatti accomplished two important things for baseball,” Ueberroth said. “One is total fairness, and second is preserving the integrity of the commissioner’s office and the institution of baseball by the resolution of this matter. I think people will realize that over a period of time, and it augurs very well for his administration.”

Ueberroth indicated that he was in close touch with Giamatti during the seven-month investigation.

“The resolution did not surprise me,” he said. “He’s kept me informed. I talked with him (Wednesday) and (Thursday).

“I think the timing is good because there are races in all the divisions, and it’s time to focus back on the field of play.”

Even so, Ueberroth said, Rose’s accomplishments as a player should not be forgotten.

“I believe Pete Rose will be elected to the Hall of Fame, and his efforts and results as a player indicate that he’s certainly a Hall of Fame player.”

But unless he is reinstated before he becomes eligible for the Hall in 1992, Rose will be the first player to appear on a Hall of Fame ballot while under suspension from baseball.

Asked how that might affect Rose’s chances for reinstatement, Ueberroth said: “I wouldn’t hazard a guess one way or the other.”

Jack Lang, executive secretary of the Baseball Writers’ Assn. of America since 1966, said Rose is far from a cinch to be reinstated, should he apply at the end of his first year of suspension, as he indicated he would.

“Charlie Manson and Sirhan Sirhan come up for parole every year, and they don’t get it,” Lang said.

“There’s never been a banned player that was qualified to be on the ballot,” he said. “ . . . His name will be on the ballot. It will then be up to the baseball writers to decide if he belongs in there.”

BBWAA President Phil Pepe of the New York Daily News said: “If he’s still banned when his turn comes up, that certainly will affect his chances of getting into the Hall of Fame. I don’t think it will keep him out. His credentials are unquestioned.

“In talking to a lot of my fellow voters, some say it wouldn’t matter to them, and some say they couldn’t in good conscience vote for somebody who is under suspension.

“I don’t have to make that decision now. I have three years to think about it and a lot can happen in three years. And suppose he is reinstated. Maybe nobody’s going to hire him. He didn’t do such a good job as a manager this year.”

Although Rose denies betting on baseball, other baseball people strongly supported Giamatti’s action because they believe that Rose broke a basic baseball rule--Section 21 (d) of the Major League Rules.

E.J. (Buzzie) Bavasi, former executive of the Dodgers, Angels and San Diego Padres, retired and living in La Jolla, still knows the rule by heart--and is certain that Rose did, too.

“Rule 21 is very, very clear,” Bavasi said. “ ‘Any player, umpire or club or league official or employee, who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has a duty to perform, shall be declared permanently ineligible.’

“There is nothing in there about an appeal whatsoever. There’s nothing Giamatti could do but suspend him.

“Pete Rose is one gentleman in this game who knows the rules better than anyone else . . . even better than Gene Mauch. He knew what he was doing. Good gravy, all you have to do is walk in the clubhouse and you’ll see the sign. Matter of fact, I noticed the other day--I think it was in Cincinnati--on the outfield fence it said, ‘No gambling.’ I’m a purist when it comes to this.”

Bavasi noted that one of his Brooklyn Dodger managers, Leo Durocher, was suspended for the entire 1947 season “just for knowing a couple of gamblers.”

Reached in Palm Springs, Durocher declined comment on the Rose case.

“I don’t do interviews,” he said.

Bavasi added: “The Hall of Fame is for what (Rose) did on the field. He did not throw a baseball game . . . did nothing to change the course of a game. Pete just bet on the game because he wanted to make a dollar or two. I don’t think this should have any bearing on his 30 years in baseball.”

Others expressed sympathy for Rose and agreed that he belongs in the Hall of Fame.

Manager Sparky Anderson of the Detroit Tigers, who managed Rose at Cincinnati, said: “It makes you sad what happened today, but Pete stood there and took it like a man . . . like I knew he would.”

Former teammate Johnny Bench, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame this year, said: “It’s crushing to all of us who played with him. You really feel sorry for the situation Pete got himself into. If he bet on baseball and bet on the Reds, that’s just the rules of the game.

“Pete Rose will remain a friend. He has to live with this. It’ll never be out of his mind because people won’t let him forget.”

Charles O. Finley, former owner of the Oakland Athletics, had an ongoing feud with another baseball commissioner, Bowie Kuhn, but said of Giamatti: “I thought he handled it very professionally. I thought the commissioner made himself very clear, and I think it’s imperative that everyone lives up to the rules of baseball, regardless of what his name may be.

“As far as the Hall of Fame is concerned, I think (Rose) very definitely has earned his spurs for qualification.”

Elsewhere, Kuhn was quoted as saying: “I think the game and the commissioner’s office come out strong. I think (Giamatti) made the right decision. On the down side, personally, I regret this happened to one of the great players of the game.”

Kuhn also doubted that Rose will ever be reinstated.

“It will be a tough sell,” he said. “He has every right to apply, but it will be tough.”

A Dodger public relations man read a statement from owner Peter O’Malley: “We believe that Commissioner Giamatti acted diligently and firmly in resolving this complex matter, and we support his decision. In particular, we are pleased that the commissioner’s authority to enforce the rules of major league baseball was not diminished by this case.”

Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda was at a momentary and unusual loss for words.

“I don’t know what I can say about it,” Lasorda said. “It’s a sad day, particularly for a guy like Pete, a guy who’s been an inspiration and an example to millions of people on what you could attain in life if you really put forth the effort and hard work. He utilized all of his abilities and became one of the premier ballplayers of this century.

“I’m glad the thing is over. It’s been lingering too long. I think it’s a lesson to let everybody know . . . that’s a rule (Section 21 (d)) that everybody knows about. We have to read that rule to our team every year about gambling on baseball. We even bring in the law enforcement (people) to talk about gambling. You can’t bet on your sport. He denies doing it, but yet they suspended him. What did they suspend him for?

“It’s sad. It really is sad . . . a guy has to go out in that fashion.”

Former Angel manager Gene Mauch hadn’t heard about Thursday’s announcement and was confused when the details were told to him.

“I don’t want to say something off the wall until I really understand what all this means,” Mauch said. “The only thing that would cause Pete to be banished lifetime is the acknowledgement that he did bet on his team.

“He could have bet on baseball . . . anything and not been suspended for life. The lifetime banishment would have been for betting on his own team. That leaves me totally confused. I don’t know why Pete would accept it.

“I feel sorry for Giamatti. It was something he didn’t initiate. The commissioner’s office had investigated this long before a very troubled Bartlett Giamatti got hold of it. And I feel terribly sorry for Pete if he did some of the things people say he did. Everybody knows he is a Hall of Fame ballplayer, regardless of whether he’s elected.

“The integrity and the power of the commissioner’s office is an absolute must. If we don’t have the power of the commissioner’s office, baseball is going to be in serious trouble. The threat of banishment from the game for gambling should be there.”

Like Mauch, Pepe was confused by some of Rose’s comments Thursday.

“The ‘compromise’ exists only in Pete Rose’s mind,” Pepe said. “Giamatti, as far as he’s concerned, there is no compromise. The man is banned for life. And here’s Rose saying, ‘Well, I expect to be back in a year.’ I don’t know what he bases that on.

“It would be nice to think he (agreed to accept the suspension) for the good of the game because it was interfering with an exciting season, but I don’t think that’s the reason.

“His denials indicate he’s not cured of whatever his problem is. I think he’s living in a dream world. He’s either putting up a facade, or he has no clue of what exactly he is guilty of.”