Twin legacies

 So Pete Rose is dead now, and the tributes pour in, and again you see that Prince Valiant hair flying as No. 14 dives headfirst toward a base. At the plate, he coils his body once more into that blatantly eff-you crouch; in the field, he is at first base now ... no, wait, second or third ... no, wait, out in right or left.

Portrait of a baseball player, or perhaps of baseball itself. Gone now at 83, an impossible age to think of Pete Rose ever being.

 Charlie Hustle, a nickname both rich in truth and irony, was found in his Nevada home by a family member, according to the news story. He passed right after appearing at an autograph signing with his old Big Red Machine compadres, Tony Perez and George Foster and  Dave Concepcion.

He leaves behind twin legacies, both fueled by Rose's insatiably competitive nature. There's his legacy as a player, which could hardly be more sterling; then there's his legacy as a sketchy grifter forever chasing the main chance. One was the natural extension of the other, because that aforementioned competitive nature didn't have an off switch.

Thus, Charlie Hustle on the field. And thus, Charlie Hustle, in a different context, off it. 

The Greek tragedy in this, of course, is that the second Charlie killed the first Charlie's chances at the Hall of Fame. Which is the essence of the Great Debate he also leaves behind, and which will live on because it's baseball, and in baseball debate has always transcended the mortal coil.

The Great Debate: Should Pete Rose be admitted to the place his playing career overwhelmingly says he should be, or should he forever be punished for violating one of baseball's most sacred edicts?

Reasonable minds can disagree, but here in 2024 the weight of the argument leans increasingly toward Rose. It has, after all, been 35 years since the late Bart Giamatti cast Pete into outer darkness for betting on baseball, and on his own team. Now there are online betting kiosks outside MLB ballparks, and one of the game's most venerable franchises is angling to call Las Vegas home, with baseball's full approval. 

Rose's banishment just seems silly and anachronistic now, in light of that. And baseball looks more and more ugly and vindictive and plain mule-stubborn.

The Blob's argument has always been that as long as Rose kept lying about the betting thing, he shouldn't be rewarded for it. And, Pete being Pete, he lied about it for years. Only when Charlie Hustle saw money in it did he come clean in order to sell books.

But at least he finally did. So, yeah, put Rose in the Hall, if only because it's not worth a bucket of warm spit without a player who was a 17-time All-Star, holds the major-league record for career hits, games played and plate appearances, and holds the National League record of the longest hitting streak at 44 games.

Shoulda done it before he died, as so many bitterly pointed out yesterday. But better late than never.