MLB commissioner Bud Selig mulling pardon for hit king Pete Rose

BY Bill Madden
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

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Rickey Henderson (second from left) accepts his Cooperstown plaque with (from l.) Hall of Fame president Jeff Idelson, HOF chairperson Jane Forbes Clark and Bud Selig.

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Selig appears to be mulling giving Pete Rose a pardon.

COOPERSTOWN - Thanks to the behind-the-scenes lobbying from some of the most influential Hall of Famers, commissioner Bud Selig is said to be seriously considering lifting Pete Rose's lifetime suspension from baseball.

The tip-off that Selig may now be inclined to pardon baseball's all-time hit king was Hank Aaron's seemingly impromptu interview session with a small group of reporters in the lobby of the Otesaga Hotel on Saturday. In declaring for the first time that he would want an asterisk put on the achievements of any steroid cheats elected to the Hall of Fame, Aaron brought up Rose, who, in August of 1989, was given a lifetime ban for gambling on baseball, saying: "I would like to see Pete in. He belongs there."

It is no secret that Selig considers Aaron one of his closest friends and values his opinions over perhaps all others. It was also learned by the Daily News that in a meeting of the Hall of Fame's board of directors at the Otesaga later on Saturday, two of Rose's former teammates on the board, vice chairman Joe Morgan and Frank Robinson, also expressed their hope that Selig would see fit to reinstate Rose.

Said another Hall of Famer familiar with the situation: "I think a lot of the guys feel that it's been 20 years now for Pete, and would lean toward leniency and time served. If he had admitted it in the first place and apologized way back then, he'd probably be in the Hall by now."

According to another source, the behind-the-scenes lobbying process began five years ago, but stalled because Selig was still not satisfied that Rose was "reconfiguring" his life, as the late commissioner Bart Giamatti had instructed for him to do when he initially placed him on baseball's permanent ineligible list. In addition, the source said, Selig's conditions for any reinstatement would be stiff. Rose likely would need to make another public apology and he would be prohibited from managing.

If Selig does reinstate him, Rose then would become eligible for the Hall of Fame, but on the Veterans Committee ballot, as his 15 years on the Baseball Writers ballot expired during his time on the ineligible list. He would thus have to be elected by his peers, the 65 living members in the Hall of Fame, not all of whom agree with Aaron, Morgan and Robinson that Rose has done his time. It's hard to say if he would get the necessary 75% for election. "I know there are still guys who feel strongly against him," said one Hall of Famer, "and I don't know if that would change even if Selig clears him."

Nevertheless, it is beginning to look as if Rose will at least finally get Hall of Fame consideration, at the same time the Hall of Famers are taking an even harder stance on all the steroids cheats. "Believe me," said Reggie Jackson, to a couple of writers, "that little session Hank had with you guys was anything but impromptu. He wanted to get that out there. It was time."

RICKEY STORY OF INTEREST: Former Oakland A's general manager Sandy Alderson, who traded Rickey Henderson twice, was asked if had any particular favorite "Rickey story."

"Oh yeah," said Alderson, chuckling, "it would have to be the signing bonus check. At the end of the year, he still hadn't cashed it and when we called him about it, because we were getting our books in order, he said he was waiting for the interest rates to go up." ... The year after being inducted, Goose Gossage said it's such a pleasure to just relax and enjoy the Hall of Fame weekend. Gossage said the most unforgettable part of his induction weekend last year was the Sunday night Hall of Famers' private dinner. "Different Hall of Famers got up and gave little speeches and then Sandy Koufax got up there and asked me to come up," Gossage said. "I'm saying: 'What does he want me for?' And then he hands me my ring and says: 'Here Goose, welcome to the club.' Can you imagine what that was like?'"

TOM'S TERRIFIC MOMENT: At the Saturday night party in the Hall of Fame plaque room, Tom Seaver was standing in front of the inaugural 1936 class of plaques - Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson and Honus Wagner. "In 1970," Seaver said, "I brought my wife Nancy up here and took her to the section where the first class was. I said to her: 'This is what all my sacrifice is for. This is what all that work, all that time away, all the stuff in the minor leagues is all about.' I make it a point to visit Mathewson's and Walter Johnson's plaques every year." ... In the introduction of the 50 returning Hall of Famers at the ceremonies, reclusive Carl Yastrzemski, who has been back to the inductions only three times since his own election in 1989 and recently had open-heart surgery, received the loudest ovation from the decidedly pro-Jim Rice Red Sox crowd.