Rose Still Expects to Be Hall of Famer

Pete Rose, whose gambling got him banned from baseball in 1989, said Thursday he feels his induction into the Hall of Fame is inevitable.

“This is a pretty good country for giving people a second chance,” baseball’s career hits leader said. “I won’t need a third or fourth chance.”

Rose, 56, was suspended by Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti after an investigation that determined Rose bet on football.

While the agreement that surrounded his suspension formally stipulated that there was no proof Rose bet on baseball, Giamatti, who died shortly after banning Rose, said he believed Rose did.

Rose, who had 4,256 hits in 3,562 games, both records, has been in limbo ever since, unable to officially participate in any baseball activity and ineligible to enter the Hall of Fame.

He has consistently denied betting on baseball, and he did so again Thursday.

“No one will ever prove I did, and I can’t prove I didn’t because I can’t prove a negative.”