20/05/2025
As the news of Pete Rose being reinstated to the MLB this past week came out, I saw a variety of responses. My personal thought was, well it's too bad it happened after he died. Others said he was a horrible person and doesn't deserve the honor of the Hall of Fame. I thought, well if he really is a horrible person with so many moral and ethical flaws in his life he may not deserve it. Then I wondered if that was a criteria for getting into the MLB Hall of Fame. I've heard people speak ill of a good many people who are in Halls of Fame in other sports, including the NFL, PRCA and more. Adulterers, thieves, cheats, liars, crooks and so on. Does someone's life being above reproach really matter for them to get into a sports hall of fame? Last I remember, every debate I ever heard was about their numbers and stats in the arena. But I would honestly hate to think that any hall of famer, you know the guys we idolize, were a person with no integrity or good moral standing. What, you mean that guy we are celebrating has cheated on his wife that many times and been married how many times and has kids with how many women out of wedlock?
Then I think about public officials. You know, the ones we elect to steward our governments and finances and so on. Oh yeah, I don't just mean, senators, congressmen and presidents. I mean school board members, county commissioners, judges, mayors, etc. You know the ones that can't be trusted at home, but they can be with public responsibilities. God forbid we call them out for it. Oh, I know, we all fall short of the Glory of God. I know you think that the Bible says we aren't supposed to judge people. That's actually not true. We are to judge with right judgement according to John 7. But I digress. When does integrity count? I’m just curious what your thoughts are. I was raised to believe that our integrity is all that we really have. I have failed here by the way.
Of course, we don't want to hurt people. That's not what I am getting at. But you know as well as I do that integrity means something, and if we are going to take on such a great responsibility as public office or public figure, we should be accepting with grace of the consequences of our failure. But, that would mean we would have to own our mistakes. That means, when we fail, we can't get angry when we are held accountable for our actions. Let's be honest for a minute. Can a man that will cheat on his wife really be trusted by the public to handle his responsibilities with integrity? Put any failure and person you want into that question. Well, the snarky will say, then nobody is qualified Kevin. You’re correct! That is why there is or should be ethical governances in place. Well, who establishes that? The body of the whole. Well, what if the body of the whole deems adultery as acceptable (Again, put any moral failing in here)? That is a problem then, isn't it? The breaking of covenants and vows are a serious matter. And, our integrity is a serious matter. But our desires often overwhelm our integrity. We make mistakes, all of us. The question is do we learn from them and stop making them or continue in our sin?
Sorry, I got of course for a second. So, back to Pete. Should he be allowed in the MLB Hall of Fame if he is a person with no moral value or poor integrity? I’m not sure I can answer that question now. Honestly, I don’t think people really care.
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