When you think of the Cincinnati Reds, what’s one player that always comes to mind?
It has to be Pete Rose.
We’re talking about the guy who is an automatic Hall of Famer, collecting a record total of 4,256 hits, most games played at 3,562, most times at bat with 14,053, and most seasons with 200 hits or more at the time, and was a lifetime .303 hitter…
But he was blackballed by the MLB after it was discovered in 1989 that Rose had bet on a number of sports teams, including his own, the Cincinnati Reds.
Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti banned him for life from the MLB, making him ineligible for the Hall of Fame.
However, in a weird turn of events, one specific MLB team has decided to partner up with BetMGM, and open a new sportsbook at their Great American Ballpark, giving fans an opportunity to place bets on games, according to SportsPro Media.
As you can probably imagine, 81-year-old Pete Rose is probably punching air right now, considering the team he spent nearly his whole career with, and also shunned him, is now teaming up with a SPORTS BETTING AGENCY.
I mean c’mon, give credit where credit is due.
Rose was one of the best, if not THE best, players in the MLB in the ’60s and ’70s, and undoubtedly deserves a spot in the Hall of Fame based off talent alone.
This has to be a slap in the face for ol’ Pete.
Needless to say, Twitter was outraged by this one:
