Pete Rose has a baseball legend in his corner in his quest to one day be enshrined in Cooperstown.
Rod Carew, a former 18-time All-Star infielder for the Twins and Angels, advocated on Wednesday for Rose to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Quote-tweeting an account that asked people generally what they think about sports gambling, Carew answered, “It has gone too far and it’s hypocritical. How can you keep Pete Rose out and have a sportsbook at the Reds stadium??”
After that, one of Carew’s followers said it was a “pretty clear line” that Rose gambled on games he was involved with as a player or manager.
“If they can embrace gambling to the level of putting it in the stadium they can forgive Pete and recognize him for the Great he is,” Carew retorted. “That’s the point.”
Another follower chimed in that Rose has never shown “contrition” for betting on games he was involved with, and that steroid users who partook in the performance enhancing drugs “at a time when EVERYONE was using steroids” have a better case than Rose.
“Let’s talk when they put steroid clinics in the stadium,” the 77-year-old Carew responded with a laughing emoji.
Rose, the sport’s all-time hits leader, was banned by MLB commissioner Bart Giamatti in 1989 after an investigation revealed that he bet on games in which he managed the Reds.
He wrote a letter to current commissioner Rob Manfred this past November seeking reinstatement.
“I am writing today for three reasons,” Rose said in the letter. “First, because at my age I want to be 100% sure that you understand how much I mean it when I say that I’m sorry. Second, to ask for your forgiveness. And third, because I still think every day about what it would mean to be considered for the Hall of Fame.”
