{"id":389,"date":"2025-05-21T11:01:15","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T11:01:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yourspecialsurvey.com\/?p=389"},"modified":"2025-05-29T17:28:41","modified_gmt":"2025-05-29T17:28:41","slug":"baseball-hall-of-fame-needs-to-check-its-gambling-hypocrisy-letters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yourspecialsurvey.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/21\/baseball-hall-of-fame-needs-to-check-its-gambling-hypocrisy-letters\/","title":{"rendered":"Baseball Hall of Fame needs to check its gambling hypocrisy (Letters)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hall needs to check its hypocrisy<\/h4>\n

Re: “Lifting Hall of Fame ban on Pete Rose, ‘Shoeless’ Joe came decades late,” May 15 commentary<\/p>\n

I have long believed that the Baseball Hall of Fame has excluded a number of outstanding players for arbitrary reasons. Pete Rose is a notable example, as pointed out in the commentary. However, there are several others, and as a result, I think the relevance of the Hall of Fame is diminished.<\/p>\n

Rose’s gambling violations had nothing to do with his performance as a player. The fact is that he was one of the greatest hitters in history. He exceeded Ty Cobb’s record for career hits. That should be enough to put him in the Hall. It is sad that this didn’t happen while he was alive. Whatever you may think about Rose as a person, clearly he should be celebrated in the Hall of Fame. If they want to put a footnote on his plaque (e.g., that he gambled when he was a manager), that’s fine, but excluding him was always phony.<\/p>\n

And while they’re at it, add other outstanding players: Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, and Shoeless Joe Jackson, to mention a few. Without those names, the Hall of Fame is a mockery. If we’re going to have character tests for entrance to the Hall, we should eject some players.<\/p>\n

I would also like to point out the incredible hypocrisy of Major League Baseball regarding gambling. They excluded Rose for gambling on his team to win, but now a primary sponsor of MLB is the sports gambling industry. Every time I see a gambling ad during a game, I think about Pete. If gambling is wrong for players, it is wrong for MLB.<\/p>\n

James W. Craft, Broomfield<\/em><\/p>\n

Shocking provision in budget bill<\/h4>\n

Re: “Trump’s clash with the courts raises prospect of showdown<\/a>,” May 19 news story<\/p>\n

Did I read this correctly? In Monday\u2019s Denver Post, buried more than 20 paragraphs into the article, The Associated Press\u2019 Nicholas Riccardi writes, \u201cThe provision in the Republican budget bill would prohibit courts from enforcing contempt citations for violations of injunctions or temporary restraining orders — the two main types of rulings used to rein in the Trump administration — unless the plaintiffs have paid a bond.\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019m no lawyer, but I take this to mean that if the GOP-ruled Congress wants to pass a bill\/law that essentially allows them to do any illegal thing they want, the courts would be virtually powerless to stop them. If the government can violate the rule of law and the Constitution with impunity and flout any legal ruling without fear of restraint or consequence, then it has ceased to be a government and has become a criminal enterprise. Is this what the American people want?<\/p>\n

Flint Whitlock, Denver<\/em><\/p>\n

Cartoon spreads false narrative<\/h4>\n

The cartoon on the May 17 opinion page spreads a false narrative that Democrats want to free MS-13 gang members, rapists and murderers.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the truth: Democrats protesting at the ICE facility in New Jersey did not demand that the government free the immigrants detained there. Democrats (and other ethically-minded people) simply want to have the Trump administration use due process to determine which detainees should be deported, which should be tried for crimes, and which have the right to remain in the USA. Democrats are not clamoring to have gang members, rapists, and murderers turned loose.<\/p>\n