Damn! They didn’t have to do that to Pete! Pete Rose is baseball’s all-time hit king with 4,256, but baseball maker Topps will not acknowledge his record because of his lifetime ban for betting on baseball. Do you agree with their decision?! Details after the jump…
According to Aaron Gleeman at HardballTalk:
This year’s Topps baseball cards include “career chase” notes on the back that list how far players are away from various statistical records. For instance, on the back of Mets reliever Bobby Parnell‘s card it says: “With 249 games pitched, Parnell is 1,003 away from Jesse Orosco’s all-time record of 1,252.”
However, Rob Harris of ChicagoSideSports.com noticed that all of the “career chase” notes mentioning hit totals do so without actually using Pete Rose’s name. So, for example, A.J. Pierzynski‘s card says: “With 1,645 hits, Pierzynski is 2,611 away from the all-time record of 4,256.”
That “all-time record of 4,256″ belongs to Rose, of course, but apparently Topps has taken it upon themselves to whitewash him from history. Or something. When contacted by Harris company spokesperson Clay Luraschi said only that it was “a simple decision” and made “plain and simple.”
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According to USA Today:
Why the omission?
“Since (Rose) is banned from Major League Baseball, we don’t include him on any officially licensed products,” said Matt Bourne, MLB’s vice president of business public relations. “This is not a new policy.”
Rose, now 71, is ineligible for the Hall of Fame and was banned from baseball in 1989 for gambling on games while playing and managing the Cincinnati Reds in the 1980s.
That ban includes Topps, which is an official licensed product.
Why the hubbub now over Rose’s exclusion? Rose’s likeness hasn’t appeared on a Topps card nor has he been referenced on the back of one since 1989. But it’s how Career Chase is presented that makes it noticeable.
Career Chase is wedged between the player’s personal information and his complete batting record. It indicates how close a player is to a particular record and who owns it.
