Marso 1, 2025

"Baseball, which is dying all over the place, should get off its fat, lazy ass, and elect Pete Rose, even though far too late, into the Baseball Hall of Fame!"

Writes Donald Trump (on Truth Social):
Major League Baseball didn’t have the courage or decency to put the late, great, Pete Rose, also known as “Charlie Hustle,” into the Baseball Hall of fame. Now he is dead, will never experience the thrill of being selected, even though he was a FAR BETTER PLAYER than most of those who made it, and can only be named posthumously. WHAT A SHAME! Anyway, over the next few weeks I will be signing a complete PARDON of Pete Rose, who shouldn’t have been gambling on baseball, but only bet on HIS TEAM WINNING. He never betted against himself, or the other team. He had the most hits, by far, in baseball history, and won more games than anyone in sports history. Baseball, which is dying all over the place, should get off its fat, lazy ass, and elect Pete Rose, even though far too late, into the Baseball Hall of Fame!

I'm disconcerted that the President of the United States wrote "betted," but I'm amused at the metaphorical flourish of "dying all over the place" and "fat, lazy ass." 

To me, "betted" is embarrassingly wrong, but I see Shakespeare used it. From the OED:

1600 Iohn a Gaunt loued him well, and betted much money on his head. W. Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part 2 iii. ii. 44

If you use "fat, lazy ass" metaphorically — baseball doesn't even have an ass — you do flout the niceties of the body acceptance movement, but Trump is well aware that his own ass is fat and thus presents a big target for his antagonists. He doesn't care. It's a fat ass, but emphatically not a lazy ass.

57 komento:

Jaq ayon kay ...

Baseball died to me when the National League went to the designated hitter. It died a little bit when the American League decided that decades ago, that the fans wanted the game to be more like cricket. If runs are so important, there is the sport for you! A single at bat can produce a hundred runs! That's when they lost confidence that their fans understood the sport and decided to make it "more accessible." It stopped being a thinking man's sport.

Meade ayon kay ...

“ It's a fat ass, but emphatically not a lazy ass.”
Perhaps the greatest fat ass, but emphatically not lazy ass the world has ever known. That much I will say.

Dave Begley ayon kay ...

I guess we can move on from that Ukraine thing of yesterday.

Saint Croix ayon kay ...

To me, "betted" is embarrassingly wrong, but I see Shakespeare used it.

I'm pretty sure I've used that word in my life. "I betted on the Yankees." It looks bad in writing, but people say it in language because it's how you make a past tense out of many words.

"I gambled on the Yankees."
"I betted on the Yankees."

It's kind of weird to say that "bet" is the preterite of "bet," while "gambled" is the preterite of "gamble."

rehajm ayon kay ...

Yah all the juice made it in…Pete was all natural. It was petty at the time at every time he’s not elected…

…2011 when the Red Sox pitchers were revealed to be dogging it, eating chicken and beer in the clubhouse. They led the league by nine games in September and missed the playoffs. A bunch of our season ticket holders didn’t renew the following season. Moving the AS the game out of Atlanta for leftie politics made baseball dead all over for me…

Saint Croix ayon kay ...

A note from A.I.

While "betted" technically exists as a past tense form, it is considered archaic and not the preferred usage.

So I think we'll just have to agree that Trump is Shakespearean.

(I don't want to compare him to Falstaff, but some might go there).

Jaq ayon kay ...

There are some great words that never should have disappeared, like "eftest."

gspencer ayon kay ...

"To me, 'betted' is embarrassingly wrong, but I see Shakespeare used it."
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Okay, maybe embarrassing, but so what? You're missing Trump's point. Restrict the focus to what Rose did on the field and rightly put him in Cooperstown.

Lloyd W. Robertson ayon kay ...

I think it's safe to say DT prefers gambling to taxes. Willing buyer, willing seller. I'm not a baseball metrics person, but someone told me that of all Ty Cobb's records, total career hits is the luckiest. Long career, good health, probably swinging at a lot of pitches. Not hitting for power, RBIs, or runs. Not total bases, including stolen bases.

Money Manger ayon kay ...

Trump needs to sign an EO banning all irregular verb forms from the English Language. His popularity would surge with a billion young students worldwide.

Kate ayon kay ...

I wanted to see of whom John of Gaunt thought so well. Apparently this fellow Double could draw a mean bow. And then up walks one of Sir John Falstaff's men.

Did you purposely pick a quote about Trump's language that referenced one of literature's greatest fat and lazy asses?

Lem Vibe Bandit ayon kay ...

Trump is competing with his bench player Elon for “engagement”. It’s safe to say that after the cabinet meeting Trump has opened up a big lead in the content creation standings.

rehajm ayon kay ...

Okay, maybe embarrassing, but so what?

It isn’t a format for language scolds but teho…

Drago ayon kay ...

Once again, effortlessly, Trump channels the thoughts of the everyday dudes and chicks. Nothing Trump wrote hasnt been said by legions for decades.

But baseball has a deathwish and doesn't believe they need to change all that much.

So be it.

rehajm ayon kay ...

But baseball has a deathwish and doesn't believe they need to change all that much.

I don’t recall when or where but at least a decade ago basketball lamented how empty the seats could be. The corporate ticket buys meant some games were poorly attended. It happens with baseball, too. So long as the revenue comes in baseball is happy. It does seem they enjoy sticking it to their actual fans, however…

Lem Vibe Bandit ayon kay ...

I can’t agree with Trump on this. The integrity of the game is paramount. No exceptions. The fact that the rule was flouted by arguably the best player that ever played the game, makes the penalty all the more necessary. No player is more important than the game. This isn’t basketball.

Wince ayon kay ...

Darryl Strawberry was a sex addict who bedded many women, sometimes during a game between innings. As Red Buttons used to say, “he never got a MLB Hall of Fame dinner.”

rehajm ayon kay ...

I'm disconcerted that the President of the United States wrote "betted,"

…like, now you think less of him? Straighten up.

rehajm ayon kay ...

…let’s let Grok nitpick Shakespeare’s grammar…

Jaq ayon kay ...

"The fact that the rule was flouted by arguably the best player that ever played the game,"

Let's not get out of hand here.

Wilbur ayon kay ...

If the Veterans Committee wants to put Pete in, OK by me. My life won't change.
But the problem with Pete betting on his own team only to win - he was the manager - is this: Pete did not bet on his own team every day, only intermittently. Those days he did not bet on his own team (and Pete was an inveterate, daily gambler on all sports) he was tipping his hand that his team was less likely to win that day, valuable information if you were in on it.

Wilbur ayon kay ...

The notion that Pete was the greatest player ever - or was ever the best player in his league - is laughable. He was rarely the best player on his own team.

Sally327 ayon kay ...

As someone who used to own a casino (maybe he still does?) it's not a surprise that Trump doesn't see anything wrong with gambling on baseball when you're a manager of a major league baseball team. Rose knew the rules, FAFO. But he's beyond these mortal concerns now.

I wonder if Trump is going to wax so eloquent about Barry Bonds. Far more worthy a candidate and he's not in the HOF either.

And baseball is not dying.

Lawnerd ayon kay ...

Baseball been berry, berry good to Pete Rose.

Deep State Reformer ayon kay ...

Fuck Pete Rose. He gambled and he lost. Rose deserves the exclusion. MLB should leave Roses' legacy of punitive exclusion in place to "encourage the others". The "others" being players that are tempted to gamble. Rose is MLB's pillar of salt. IYKYK.

Tank ayon kay ...

Rose was a great player (not the greatest) and he played at a time when betting was not so ubiquitous as it is today. Back then, as now, there is one cardinal rule about betting, i.e. you can't bet on baseball if you are playing or managing, and you definitely can't bet on games you are involved with. You can fu*k the owner's daughter, you can run over a kid while drunk, you can snort cocaine in the clubhouse, but for God's sake, just don't bet (note: even if you bet on your own team to win, it effects how you manage or play). Rose bet on his own team, got caught and agreed to a lifetime ban. It is what it is.

Bob B ayon kay ...

The wonder of English is there are no rules — only preferences and snobs.

Meade ayon kay ...

Pete Rose, aka The Hit King, is inarguably the greatest baseball player to ever play the game. So he gambled and he sinned. Who hasn’t? Sadly, he got caught stealing, stealing from the IRS. Tug out trying to stretch a single into a double, Shakespeare might say. A full pardon from the greatest (albeit flawed-character) POTUS ever, dwarfs the denied honor of induction into the Hall. Bravo, Mr. President. Charlie Hustle is looking down, mouthing a silent “thank you” to you on behalf of a grateful nation and of the entire baseball world.

Ann Althouse ayon kay ...

"Charlie Hustle is looking down, mouthing a silent “thank you” to you on behalf of a grateful nation and of the entire baseball world."

Down? How do you know he's not looking up.

If he was headed to hell, he found a way to stretch it out to purgatory.

Rory ayon kay ...

"Yah all the juice made it in…Pete was all natural. It was petty at the time at every time he’s not elected…"

Pete was training at a Ground Zero for steroid use, his close associates including drug dealers who traded in steroids. Pete said he never used steroids because he figured he was too old for them to help him, but Pete lied about everything. The investigators had enough on Pete's gambling that they didn't need to look into other things.

gspencer ayon kay ...

Chico Escuela lives in lawnerd.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0GtPwDJyw0

Meade ayon kay ...

“ If he was headed to hell, he found a way to stretch it out to purgatory.”

By sliding in head first of course.

Curious George ayon kay ...

"Meade said...
Pete Rose, aka The Hit King, is inarguably the greatest baseball player to ever play the game."

He wasn't known as the "The Hit King." His nickname was Charlie Hustle.

And inarguably? That's laughable. Not many would even make that argument. Sure he is the all-time hit leader, but that was aided greatly by longevity and with so many stadiums (especially where he played 81 games a year at home) going to hard as concrete astroturf, some with no dirt infields. The ball would just zip through the infield.

Do you know what other career stat he holds the record for? Outs made.

Eric the Fruit Bat ayon kay ...

To commemorate this great moment in history, I too, like President Trump, will do what I can to honor the memory of Pete Rose, in my case, by skipping a few haircuts.

Lazarus ayon kay ...

Didn't Ernest Hemingway's brother win a Hemingway look-alike contest one year?

Trump could easily sweep any Trump parody contests with this one.

Readering ayon kay ...

Baseball blamed Rose when Commissioner Bart Giamatti had a fatal heart attack at 51 right after having to deal with the scandal.

Lazarus ayon kay ...

There's no damnation in baseball. The Great Church of Baseball. The movies told me that.

Also, that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, that there ought to be a constitutional amendment outlawing Astroturf and the designated hitter, and that the novels of Susan Sontag are overrated, self-indulgent crap.

Yancey Ward ayon kay ...

The real need to reduce the number of years for consideration to 5. If you can't get 75% of the votes after 5 years in retirement, then you really weren't Hall of Fame material.

Bob Boyd ayon kay ...

baseball doesn't even have an ass

Baseball is an ass.

Yancey Ward ayon kay ...

If the Devil were waiting for Pete Rose, Rose would have Ray Fosse-ed him.

Howard ayon kay ...

No one would ever accuse Pete Rose of being the thinking man's baseball player. As we can see on this comment thread, all of the thinking men hate him. It's a rage of jealousy against the indomitable life force of Charlie Hustle.

tommyesq ayon kay ...

I guess we can move on from that Ukraine thing of yesterday.

I saw an interview with Zelinsky following the disastrous White House meeting where he was trying to spin it as a good job on his part. I think the Pete Rose post might be Trump's way of thumbing his nose at Zelinsky - "see how little thought I am giving you now" kind of a thing.

Lilly, a dog ayon kay ...

I admire Major League FanDuel for keeping him out of their hall of fame. Maintaining the appearance of integrity is important. Now let's take a look at those same-day parlays on today's spring training games.

mccullough ayon kay ...

Pete Rose has the most plate appearances in MLB history by far.

1. Rose 15,890; 2. Yastrzemski 13,992; 3. Aaron 13,941; 4. Henderson 13,342; 5. Cobb 13,103; 6. Pujols 13,04.

The active MLB player with most PAs is McCutcheon with 9,156.

Wa St Blogger ayon kay ...

I can’t agree with Trump on this. The integrity of the game is paramount. No exceptions. The fact that the rule was flouted by arguably the best player that ever played the game, makes the penalty all the more necessary. No player is more important than the game. This isn’t basketball.

The hall of fame is not baseball. I can see the ban for working in the sport, but the hall is for recognizing achievement on the field. If we want to get all moralistic, remove every player that resisted negro's from playing, sexual degenerates, and lots of other bad things. Pete Rose played the game with gusto and deserves his place for his on-field work. I can't say the same for any player that cheated to boost their stats, so we won't talk about those guys. The hall is hypocritical for leaving Schilling out and keeping Cap Anson in. It's not the hall of fame it's the hall of people we want.

Rabel ayon kay ...

Betted certainly sounds wrong but the internet says that it's a legitimate if seldom used past tense form of bet.

Mason G ayon kay ...

Trump is not forcing baseball to admit Pete Rose into the Hall of Fame?

Worst. Dictator. Ever.

Wilbur ayon kay ...

Howard said...
No one would ever accuse Pete Rose of being the thinking man's baseball player. As we can see on this comment thread, all of the thinking men hate him. It's a rage of jealousy against the indomitable life force of Charlie Hustle.
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Not sure if I'm one of the thinking men, but in no way do I hate Pete Rose.
I always thought of him as a very personable, interesting guy, someone I would've loved to have had a beer and conversation with. He knew baseball history and we certainly had that in common.
I've read him repeatedly described as a great teammate, someone who sought out rookies and made them welcome, with never-flagging enthusiam and zest for the game, and life in general..
I just wouldn't want to entrust him with my life savings.

Aggie ayon kay ...

Say what you will - It's not often you see a man still hustling from beyond the grave.

Lilly, a dog ayon kay ...

@Wa St Blogger
Curt Schilling? You cannot be serious.

He was a good pitcher, but if 216 wins qualifies, then just put everyone into the MLB hall of fame. He didn't have the legendary impact that Koufax had.

NKP ayon kay ...

By sliding in head first of course.

Unless, of course, Ray Fosse's guarding the plate, without the ball.

Fuck Pete Rose.

I had separate conversations with Rose and teammate, Johnny Bench in the 70s. Both failed the "Thinking Man" test.

I'd give Bench a re-test - he may has been distracted or just lazy but he was a pleasant enough guy who asked-for (did not demand) assistance.

Rose, OTOH, was an ass. Aggressively single-minded and unaware of much, if anything, beyond Pete's world. Being around Rose more than 30 seconds required Xanax or stronger.

If it's just about numbers; any Hall of Fame for effective leadership would include Stalin, Mao, Hitler and Pol Pot as first ballot shoe-ins.

RCOCEAN II ayon kay ...

To have put Rose in the HOF while he was alive would have been a reward for his arrogant stupidity. We're told by Rose he only bet on his own team, did anyone ever verify that?

In any case, its irrelevant. Rules against sports stars betting exist for a whole bunch of reasons. Contact with gamblers, the appearance of possibly rigging the games, the possibly of being blackmailed by gangsters for the payment of gambling losses and setting a bad example.

Rose knew all that, but decided the rules didn't apply to him.

Anyway now that he's dead, he cant be punished any further. Let him be the HOF.

Jim at ayon kay ...

No. Pete broke the unbreakable rule. And then spent years lying about it.

Mason G ayon kay ...

"Rose knew all that, but decided the rules didn't apply to him."

That's how it looks to me up here in the cheap seats. I don't care one way or the other if he ever gets into the HOF but it seems to me, if he honestly cared about his legacy more than the money he was chasing with his gambling, he would have acted like it.

Narr ayon kay ...

Halls of Fame are overrated.

Political Junkie ayon kay ...

Pete & DJT are similar. They are/were high achievers in their chosen arenas, but not smooth.

Political Junkie ayon kay ...

I have a lot of respect for Pete, but he bet on baseball. No HOF for Pete.

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