Rose bet against Reds: Dowd
The lawyer hired to investigate Pete Rose in 1989 regrets suggesting the banned baseball legend placed bets against the Cincinnati Reds while managing the team.
John Dowd claimed in Thursday's New York Post that time constraints prevented him from uncovering evidence that Rose not only bet on baseball, but against his beloved Reds.
"I probably shouldn't have said it," Dowd admitted. "I was not trying to start something here."
To that end, the Washington-based lawyer deemed his own allegation, "irrelevant."
"(Rule 21 on gambling in baseball) forbids betting on the team," Dowd told The Fan 590, a Toronto sports radio station.
"It doesn't matter whether it's for or against. You have placed your financial interest ahead of the team.
"It doesn't matter whether you're for or against. But I understand there is a visceral attraction."
Dowd further argued baseball commissioner Allan (Bud) Selig should flat out refuse Rose reinstatement: "It sends a powerful, powerful, powerful message that if you cross the Rule 21 line, you're not getting back in, baby."
Rose, 61, maintains he never bet on baseball while playing or managing.
And in his first public statement since meeting secretly with Selig on Nov. 25, Rose said: "I greatly appreciate the tremendous fan support and interest in my quest for reinstatement back into Major League Baseball. I carry with each of you the passion to enter a new phase of this long drama."
The November meeting was confirmed by Joe Morgan, a Hall of Famer and Rose's teammate in Cincinnati.
"Within the last year, I asked Selig for a favour," Morgan wrote at ESPN.com.
"I never asked Bud to reinstate Pete. I asked him to meet with Pete and evaluate him on his own -- where he is today compared to where he was 13 years ago.
"Bud granted me the favor, met with Pete sometime before Thanksgiving and is now evaluating the meeting."
Former commissioner Fay Vincent, for one, remained unimpressed.
"I think the Hall of Fame has a character test and I don't support his candidacy because he failed a very important test," said Vincent who, as deputy commissioner under Peter Ueberroth and A. Bartlett Giamati, retained Dowd to investigate Rose in March 1989.
Hastily compiled, the Dowd Report revealed "no evidence was discovered that Rose bet against the Reds."
But Dowd hinted coming "close" to proving otherwise.
"I did have some information," he recalled. "But it wasn't good enough to be in my report.
"I didn't have enough time to tie it down. It was unreliable and that's why I didn't include it in the report."
"When (Bill) Gullickson pitched and Mario Soto pitched, Pete would not bet on the Reds," Dowd continued. "And that sent a signal to the bookmakers and their colleagues that he didn't think the Reds were going to win."
Rose wound up banished for life from baseball by Giamatti on Aug. 24, 1989.
The previous day, Rose signed a document refusing to admit guilt, yet with the understanding he could apply for reinstatement in one year.
"If he had come clean, he'd be back in the game today," Dowd said.
Rose officially applied to Selig for reinstatement in September 1997.
"Since I submitted my application for reinstatement back in 1997, I have looked forward to the opportunity to once again become a part of this great game," Rose stated late Thursday night.
"I can say today that we have been provided the forum to discuss all of the issues with Major League Baseball. Please respect this delicate process and permit those of us intimate with the details to continue our efforts."
To be reinstated, ESPN.com speculates Rose will have to admit wagering on baseball and serve a probationary period before earning Hall of Fame eligibility or seeking employment within the game.
Moreover, he must prove he has "reconfigured his life" as the late Giamatti requested.
"The real problem is how do you take his word that he stopped?" Vincent wondered. "We know he bets on all things.
"What has he done in the last 13 years to demonstrate he's worthy of being reinstated?"
Asked why Selig would even consider reinstating Rose, Vincent responded: "I think it's public pressure. He may think this may help rejuvenate baseball, which has looked a little grey around the edges of late.
"He may think this is a good thing to do for baseball. I happen to think it's a bad thing.
"He runs the risk that baseball would have a spate of gambling in the future. He's taking personally some enormous risk that his legacy could be that he made a very bad mistake fooling around with this.
"Otherwise, commissioners might have let Joe Jackson back in. They wrestled with that, but nobody took the chance because they didn't want to risk hurting baseball."
Although Selig refuses to comment, Dowd plans to speak freely on the issue, if only to uphold "the integrity of the game and Bart's great courage in dealing with this.
"I can't let it go, it wouldn't be right. I think there's too much emphasis on the personality and not the integrity of the game."
Rose hit .303 with 160 home runs, 1,314 runs batted in and 2,165 runs scored in 3,562 games over 24 MLB seasons with the Reds, Philadelphia Phillies and Montreal Expos before retiring in 1986, at which time he continued to manage the Reds through 1988.
Nicknamed "Charlie Hustle," the three-time World Series winner was named National League Rookie of the Year in 1963 and World Series Most Valuable Player in 1975.
On Sept. 11, 1985, Rose eclipsed Ty Cobb's career record of 4,191 hits and remains baseball's all-time hits leader with 4,256.