I never had any use for Durocher, and you can lump Pete Rose in the same category, as far as I'm concerned.

Bud Selig and his successors should never even consider letting Pete Rose back in the game. In every major-league clubhouse there is a big sign about 3 feet tall and about 24 inches wide with great big print stating the rules of professional baseball. The No. 1 rule is no betting on the opposing team or on your own team. Those rules were posted in every clubhouse after the Black Sox scandal. Rose knew better. Baseball has ironclad evidence that Rose was betting on his own team, although he'll never admit it.

Tommy Lasorda introduced me to Bart Giamatti, and we once sat behind the dugout for an entire game. Giamatti loved baseball and was a brilliant man. Giamatti's people investigated Rose extensively. It's not like it was a spur-of-the-moment decision. Rose's own son once said he was the worst father any boy could ever have, and his first wife didn't paint a pretty picture of how he treated her, either. He didn't pay his income tax and they put him in jail for it. What kind of guy violates all the rules of society and of his profession? Now he sits around bellyaching because he can't get back in the game. Pete Rose is no good for the game of baseball. He's been a black eye to baseball, regardless of how good a player he was.

Rose doesn't have a sliver of an argument that he should be allowed back in the game. He signed the agreement that banned him for life and the commissioner had all the evidence against him. If Rose took his case to court, he wouldn't have a leg to stand on. He talks about wanting to sue baseball, but let him go ahead and try. The only thing he could accomplish would be making an ass out of himself.

If he does get in the Hall of Fame after he dies, and if justice is served, his plaque will sit on the wall right next to Durocher's, a rogues' gallery.

People try to compare Pete Rose to Shoeless Joe Jackson, but Jackson was vindicated by two juries. That showed he had nothing to do with the Black Sox scandal. Charlie Comiskey was the guy who should have been kicked out. The mob gave Jackson $5,000; he took it to Comiskey, put it on his desk, and said, "Here, I don't want this money. I don't want in on this deal."

Comiskey said, "Get it the hell out of here. I don't want it. And keep your mouth shut."

Comiskey was afraid that if word of the bribe got out it would cause attendance to drop. He's the guilty man for not reporting it, for not standing up and protecting his player. Comiskey sat there and never said a word at the trial; he just let Jackson go down the drain.

Ask a baseball fan to name his favorite fiery manager and his favorite spirited ballplayer and many will answer Leo Durocher to the first question and Pete Rose to the second. Those wouldn't be my answers. I would have the same answer to both questions: Mickey Cochrane, my favorite player/manager.

» NEXT: Chapter 14