The Hypocrisy Of MLB Is Pitiful

Rose Needs to be reinstated now/Anonymous Twitter

Los Angeles, CA; Gotta talk about this one. Cincinnati Reds outfielder Tommy Pham has agreed to a three-game suspension for slapping San Francisco Giants outfielder Joc Pederson over a fantasy football dispute during batting practice prior to Friday’s game in Cincinnati.

Boy how times have changed. In 1980 Willie Mays and in 1983 Mickey Mantle, both retired and both in no way involved in baseball anymore, were banned from baseball after they were hired by casinos in Atlantic City, New Jersey, as greeters and autograph signers. Then baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn said that a casino was “no place for a baseball hero and Hall of Famer.” They were reinstated by Kuhn’s successor Peter Ueberroth in 1985.

We all are familiar with the Pete Rose saga. But what happened to Rose and Pham is so tied together that it makes my head spin. There is a serious double standard between baseball and Rose that is blatantly clear today. Yes Rose lied to the Commissioner but so did Alex Rodriguez when he denied ever using PED’s. Today he is a well accepted broadcaster and MLB has welcomed him back into the game. When is Rose going to be reinstated?

In 2019 Major League Baseball and FanDuel announced a multi-year agreement that makes FanDuel an official gaming partner of Major League Baseball. Prior to that in 2008 MLB had partnered with MGM Resorts International and DraftKings. As stated by Kenny Gersh, MLB’s vice president of gaming and new business ventures. “FanDuel has proven itself to be a leader in the sports betting space and has shifted a step ahead again through its commitment to, and recognition of, the value in being an authorized gaming operator.” What ever happened to those words posted on every backstop in every stadium that warned fans, “NO BETTING” The fact that MLB has a position for “Vice President of Gaming” is mind boggling! MLB is telling us that they are ok with betting on baseball.

Now here is where it gets interesting. On Aug. 28, 2008 Major League Baseball instituted replay review (to be used at the umpire’s discretion) on disputed home run calls (fair or foul, in or out of the ballpark and fan interference). In 2018 MLB partnered up with MGM Resorts International and DraftKings. Between 2008 and 2018 MLB went all out with what would be reviewed. It has now become “Replay on steroids!”

Think of this, Those that bet on baseball need to have umpire calls as accurate as possible. After-all, the difference of a half inch on a safe or out call could be thousands of dollars to a bettor. They demand perfection when their money is riding on an umpires decision.

What better way to make that happen than “The Reply?” You know, the thing that holds up the game and takes the fun out of watching a manager and umpire argue. Those great confrontations on the field are gone. Replay has made calls boring. If there was replay when Jackie Robinson stole home in the 1955 world series vs the Yankees, they could have called him out. No one would have remembered the play. Today it is etched in our minds and remains one of the most argued about plays by fans in the history of baseball.

To me the replay was not put there for the fan, it was put there for the betting sites and the people who have so much riding on the calls.

But getting back to the hypocrisy of giving Tommy Pham a 3 game suspension for slapping Joc Pederson. That’s fine with me but what’s not fine is that there never will be any mention about his gambling. That is the hypocrisy of MLB as it pertains to Pete Rose. If betting is not an issue for MLB and its players now then it is time for the Commissioner to right this wrong with Pete Rose.