I did not know Pete Rose was elected President ?

[kentuck]

He has a lot of fans. Most people are split 50/50 on whether or not he should be in the Hall of Fame. But, he broke the rules. He gambled on his own team. He knew it was wrong, but he did it anyway. Now, he thinks if he can get half the people on his side, his illegal acts will be overlooked. If he is popular, he cannot be convicted. It wouldn't be fair. That seems to be what Bush is saying.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

1. But Pete Rose

was a heck of a ballplayer. Bush isn't.

[tatertop]

2. Pete should never reach the hall of fame

Never. (Although I do get a kick out of his funny hair cut.)

[RaleighNCDUer]

3. Always wondered about the gambling thing.

Was he betting on his team to win or to lose.

Seems to me, betting to win is just putting his money where his mouth was. It only becomes problematical if he was betting to lose.

(Off topic, I know.)

[bunkerbuster1]

4. Short answer

Betting on your team to win, in baseball, is basically just as bad as betting on them to lose.

A manager has to think of the team's long-term health. And thus, you don't burn up your bullpen for one game just to cover a bet.

[RaleighNCDUer]

6. Good point. nt

[Geoff R. Casavant]

11. Excellent point

To you and benburch. I am another who always wondered why betting on your own team to win was so bad. You both gave excellent reasons.

Pete Rose now officially sucks worse than his own haircut in my book.

[benburch]

5. You can get better odds if you lose some games before you bet.

So, even if you bet to win, you might have been throwing games.

[RaleighNCDUer]

7. ditto. nt

[bunkerbuster1]

10. Never thought of that before.

thanks for the backup, btw.

[gratuitous]

12. And what does it say if you don't bet on your team to win?

After all, word leaks out in gambling circles, and a person's bets aren't accorded the same level of anonymity as, say, meeting with the vice president's energy task force. If word gets out that Pete is betting on the Reds to win Tuesday's game, but he's not placing a bet on Wednesday's game, the savvy gambler figures that the Reds are going to lose Wednesday.

[AllegroRondo]

13. It also had to do with the people he was gambling with

if he lost a lot of money to shady bookies, they might convince him to throw a game to keep quiet or cover his losses.

[Bill McBlueState]

8. nice.

Mind if I use this? I know a lot of baseball fans who would appreciate the analogy.

[kentuck]

9. Please do..

I think it is an appropriate analogy..