"Pete Rose was one of my favorites."

Bill Kearney

Pete Rose was one of my favorites. He would have gone through a wall to get on base, two walls to score a run, but he would have gone through three walls to make a bet. And you would have to be naive to think Pete Rose a compulsive gambling degenerate didn’t cheat or didn’t do anything to affect the outcome of a game that he most likely had a bet on. But what bothers me the most about his demise is that he never addressed his compulsive gambling problem. Think about all the good that would have come about if Pete would have spent some of that time he does selling his autograph at speaking engagements about his addiction. Who knows how many individuals and their innocent loved ones would have been in a better domestic and financial situation after hearing their sport hero confess the truth about his hideous addiction. Maybe that would have gotten Pete into the Baseball Home of Fame? Now you may disagree with me, and I can understand that, after all, who wants’ to believe what an ex-casino gambling degenerates has to say.