Imrem: Pete Rose deserves second chance — with conditions

Pete Rose was prominent again Tuesday night with multiple roles at the All-Star Game at Cincinnati.

Baseball granted Rose a hall pass — not to be confused with a Hall of Fame pass — to complete the Reds' “Franchise Four” along with Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench and Barry Larkin in a pregame ceremony on the field.

Each received a rousing welcome in Great American Ball Park. If Rose's wasn't the loudest it at least was accompanied by the most emotion.

Before and after the game, Rose was a TV analyst on Fox alongside former White Sox' star Frank Thomas.

Rose even appeared in a between-innings shoe commercial that subtly had fun with his absence from the Hall of Fame.

All the while, here, there and everywhere, Rose's hopes of getting into Cooperstown hovered over baseball's premier midsummer event.

My inclination has been to vote for Rose if his name ever appeared on the baseball writers' ballot for the Hall.

As time passes, however, I realize that second chances aren't like pieces of chocolate to be handed out frivolously.

They must be earned like ex-convicts earn theirs by serving time in correctional institutions and athletes earn theirs by serving suspensions. Then there's Pete Rose, who has been banned from baseball since 1989 and ineligible for the Hall of Fame.

Rose not only committed the baseball sin of gambling, he repeatedly lied about it for too many years.

The fear is that there's more we don't know about Rose: Is he a long lost older Kardashian brother; did he deflate baseballs as an active player; has he played a major part in Greece's financial crisis?

Nothing about Pete Rose would surprise anymore?

Gambling has been baseball's foremost no-no. The policy prohibiting it is tacked on the wall of every big-league clubhouse.

If a player does performance enhancers and pays the penalty, he still becomes eligible for the Hall of Fame? As Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens have learned, however, being elected is a longshot.

The players I vote for who did PEDs, Bonds and Clemens included, didn't break rules because there weren't any against PEDs. No policy was on clubhouse walls like the gambling policy has been.

During the steroid era, there was a whispered acceptance of drug use in baseball. For nearly 100 years, there has been a screaming warning concerning gambling. Rose has lobbied for reinstatement but in an American culture of forgiveness, Major League Baseball hasn't forgiven him.

Commissioner Rob Manfred vows to revisit the issue soon so, for conversation's sake, let's say Rose does have a chance to be reinstated.

Here are what the conditions should be.

First, Rose should spend a year meetings in Gamblers Anonymous, Liars Anonymous and Bad Guy Anonymous.

Then Rose should undergo a psychological evaluation of his addiction, followed by prescribed treatment.

Finally, Rose should have to be cleared by a professional in the field to get back in the game's good graces.

Instead of any of that, Pete Rose spends much of his time in Las Vegas and reportedly signs his autograph 250 days a year in a casino, not exactly the best environment for a recovering gambler.

Rose has to prove that he's cured of gambling so baseball can trust that he won't embarrass the game again.

Yes, Pete Rose does deserve another chance but, no, it isn't unconditional.

mimrem@dailyherald.com