Former Major League Baseball commissioner Fay Vincent ripped current commissioner Bud Selig for attempting to “please everyone” by allowing the Cincinnati Reds to honor Pete Rose on the 25th anniversary of Rose’s setting the all-time hit record.
Ironically, Rose, who was banned from baseball in 1989 for gambling, is not available for the actual anniversary, Sept. 11, because he has a prior commitment at a Kentucky casino.
You can’t make this stuff up.
So the Reds asked Selig for permission to honor Rose at the Great American Ball Park on Sunday, Sept. 12. The request was granted. And it drew the ire of Vincent, who spoke to John Dowd, the attorney who led the investigation and wrote the report that led to Rose’s ban.
” ‘When the keeper of the Rules does not enforce the Rules, there are no Rules,’ ” Vincent wrote in an e-mail to The Post. “That was the quote from John Dowd [Thursday] when we discussed what Bud had done. John is correct.
“I totally disagree with the Selig position. Either enforce the Rules or reinstate him. Bud is trying, again, to please everyone,” wrote Vincent, who was succeeded by Selig. “He did the same thing when he let Rose be honored at the [1999 World Series] — hence the Jim Gray interview — and his decision caused much confusion about a Rose reinstatement. I do not believe Selig wants to bring Rose back. But he wants to be loved in Cincinnati.”
Though Vincent helped propel the investigation that led to Rose’s ban, the exile of baseball’s all-time hits leader began during the reign of the late Bart Giamatti. Vincent has voiced opposition to the thought of reinstating Rose, now 69.
Rose broke Ty Cobb’s record of 4,191 hits on Sept. 11, 1985, and went on to finish his career with 4,256 hits. In 1989, he was banned for gambling and not permitted at any MLB-sponsored or sanctioned events. In 1997 Rose petitioned Selig for reinstatement, but there has not been a formal ruling on the matter.
An MLB spokesperson said the request by the Reds to honor Rose was approved “on a one-time basis.”