BASEBALL : Effort to Keep Rose Off Ballot Is Alleged

Election Day for Pete Rose does not come until 1992, when he will become eligible for the Hall of Fame.

Even now, however, a powerful lobby might be at work against Rose.

At least two people involved in the election process suspect that the baseball commissioner’s office, in conjunction with the Hall of Fame, is attempting to keep Rose’s name off the ballot.

Spokesmen for the commissioner’s office and the Hall of Fame deny it, but time will tell.

Here’s the background:

A candidate must receive 75% of the votes to be selected to the Hall, but that might no longer be the key hurdle in the case of Rose, who is serving both a prison sentence for tax fraud and a lifetime baseball suspension for gambling.

A committee is being formed and will meet in December to review the election process of both the veterans committee and Baseball Writers Assn. of America, whose members vote on the candidates after a committee of writers selects the nominees.

The process has always been the responsibility of the writers’ organization, but only two of its members--Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Frank Dolson, and Jack Lang, executive secretary of the BBWAA--have been asked to serve on the nine-person review board that will be headed by Edward W. Stack, president of the Hall of Fame.

The committee isn’t completely in place, but is expected to include the two league presidents, two members of the veterans committee and Lee MacPhail, the former American League president.

Said Dolson: “The feeling both Jack and I share is that this is being promoted by the commissioner and Hall of Fame people to keep Pete Rose off the ballot and out of the Hall because of the potential for embarrassment (if a suspended player is elected).

“I can’t prove it’s a sham, but I suspect it, and a committee that has only two writers on it certainly seems stacked.”

Commissioner Fay Vincent is touring Japan with a group of major league players. Spokesman Rich Levin said he knows of no attempt by Vincent to have the Hall’s election rules changed, although Vincent did meet with the Hall’s board of directors at last summer’s induction ceremonies, a customary event.

Bill Guilfoile, the Hall’s associate director, said the review was strictly Stack’s idea and is consistent with the Hall’s pattern of periodic review.

As for keeping Rose off the ballot, Guilfoile said that the Hall has received calls and letters from a small number of writers and fans suggesting that the name of a suspended player should not appear, but “that certainly isn’t the intent of the committee and I wouldn’t think it will even be brought up.”

Dolson is skeptical.

“It is not the responsibility of the commissioner, the league presidents or the Hall to decide who we vote for or against,” he said, referring to the writers’ organization.

“I personally don’t think Pete will get the 75%, but that’s up to the writers to determine and no one else.

“Both Jack and I have made it clear that in the event our fears become reality (and the committee votes to keep suspended players off the ballot), we will declare how we voted and why.”

The point:

Rose’s career accomplishments entitle him to the at-bat, the opportunity to let a conscientious electorate decide how to pitch to him.

The $280-million settlement between the owners and Major League Players Assn. does not mark an end to collusion, only a beginning, of sorts.

The settlement might provide a money-per-year breakdown, according to Gene Orza, the union’s associate general counsel, but it will be up to the union to then establish individual formulas.

Darryl Strawberry’s representative, Eric Goldschmidt, met with Dodger Vice President Fred Claire, but both declined to comment on their talks.

Monday was the first day clubs could discuss contract terms with free agents of other teams, but Claire said only that he has not had detailed contract talks with any of the Dodgers who have become free agents--Fernando Valenzuela, Kirk Gibson, Mickey Hatcher and Juan Samuel.

Sources familiar with the free-agent market say:

--The Dodgers are one of about a dozen clubs keenly interested in Ken Dayley, the St. Louis Cardinal left-handed relief pitcher who is seeking a contract similar to the three-year, $5.1-million deal Craig Lefferts received from the San Diego Padres last year.

--The New York Mets are hoping for a quick resolution of the Strawberry situation. If Strawberry leaves, the Mets are said to be looking to restructure their offense by pursuing Vince Coleman, the Cardinals’ free-agent outfielder and leadoff man.

--In attempting to place Gibson with the Detroit Tigers or a Midwest-based American League team interested in an outfielder-designated hitter, agent Doug Baldwin is encountering doubts regarding Gibson’s physical condition.