Posted By:
JustinThe problem with the argument that Ty Cobb was a bad guy and shouldn't be in the hall is flawed because, then you have to look at everybody in the hall and assess some rigid standard on who should be in and who should stay out based on how good of a person they are.
Babe Ruth was a whore, John Clarkson killed his wife, Cap Anson was a bigot...ok these guys are the obvious ones, but how about Jackie Robinson being court-martialled, Rollie Fingers not paying his taxes, oh hey Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle were banned from baseball because they appeared at casinos, Don Drysdale beaned people, Branch Rickey was misanthropic and unethical. Reggie Jackson didn't sign autographs, Gaylord Perry threw a spitball, Don Sutton has awful hair, Joe Morgan is a horrible broadcaster. It gets ridiculous. If you tried hard enough you could kick everyone out of the hall because of some infraction or another.
Both Jackson and Rose broke clear cut rules regarding the integrity of the game, which is essential to the survival of baseball. That is why they are banned, it is not a moral issue, or an issue of character, so much as it that they broke rules and clearly undermined the public's trust in the game.
And if kids are trying to choose between being gamblers/cheaters and being drug addicts and wife beaters, America has horrible problems.