Pete Rose: An American Dilemma
*Starred Review* Pete Rose hit the baseball safely 4,256 times in his major league career, more than any other man who played the game. But Rose is not in the baseball Hall of Fame. He was accused of betting on baseball and in 1989 agreed to banishment from the game. In 1991, the Hall of Fame formally agreed that anyone banned from baseball was also ineligible for the Hall. After years of maintaining his innocence, Rose finally admitted he’d bet on games while the manager of the Cincinnati Reds. Now he’s a sideshow at the annual HOF induction ceremony every year, selling autographs and, essentially, himself. Sports Illustrated editor Kennedy delves deeply into Rose’s life and the factors that contributed to his competitiveness and on-field success. He also looks into Rose’s personal life and continuing charisma, noting that gambling was always part of Rose’s life; he was a regular at horse tracks and never tried to hide his constant action on football and basketball. Kennedy isn’t campaigning for Rose’s induction into the Hall of Fame, but he does suggest that, in the post–performance enhancing drug era, perhaps the Rose situation should be reopened for discussion. This is a wonderful biography as well as a thoughtful examination of a moral quandary. --Wes Lukowsky