Urban Meyer 'pissed off' over timing of Pete Rose ruling: 'I think it's very cowardly'

Gambling has long been a cardinal sin in baseball. That seems to be changing, though, with MLB making the decision to remove several deceased players from the permanent ban list over gambling. That includes the all-time hits leader Pete Rose.

Former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer grew up watching Rose and the Big Red Machine. That’s left him frustrated over the decision. As he explained on The Triple Option, he feels the timing is cowardly, given Rose’s death, and that it should have happened earlier when he was still alive.

“I think it’s very cowardly,” Urban Meyer said. “I’m a friend of Pete Rose. He was my idol growing up. He was my family’s idol because he played the game — you know, as a kid, when he played, and everybody emulated Pete Rose. That was the era when you ran to first base after a walk. That was when you went diving into second base when you hit a double — that was this effort. You talk about energy. He gave energy. He didn’t take energy.”

On the field, Pete Rose was undoubtedly heading to the Hall of Fame. His 4,256 hits are the MLB record for a career. That came in a career where he hit .303 and had a .784 OPS over 24 MLB seasons. He’d go to 17 All-Star games, win an MVP, and win three World Series between his time with the Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Phillies.

The problem for Pete Rose was what came off the field. The Dowd Report came out in 1989, detailing his gambling activity. That included betting on games while he was the manager of the Reds, though there wasn’t evidence he ever bet against his own team. Still, it was damning and earned him a lifetime ban, which made him ineligible for the Hall of Fame.

“I’m so pissed off about this that there’s some people that have done horrific things in the Hall of Fame and all that. Pete Rose, it was bad,” Meyer said. “But he bet on his team to win games, and that’s dead wrong, but he should be in the Hall of Fame when he could hug his family and celebrate that. So, it’s cowardly. That bothers me because this is very personal with me. I grew up in Ohio and the Big Red Machine, and I became very good friends with Pete Rose.”

Urban Meyer isn’t alone. Plenty of fans felt that he should’ve been reinstated earlier, especially as gambling has become legal and more common in sports. Still, that didn’t come before his death in September of 2024.

“I love the guy. I love what he stood for as far as baseball. Was he a broken person and did he make mistakes? He did. I’ve got news, there’s a lot of people out there like that. So, I know he’s going to be in the Hall of Fame. I’m sure, immediately, but damn,” Meyer said. “Then, when I saw that news, I’m like the guy died whatever it was ago, and I don’t know. I don’t like it. I like the fact he’s going in.”

The process will begin for getting Pete Rose into Cooperstown. That’s going to take some time. The Historical Overview Committee will develop the ballot of eight names for the Classic Baseball Era Committee. That committee is then going to vote on it when they next meet in December of 2027. The Hall of Fame also has a morality clause that some committee members could potentially hold against Rose, either for his gambling or legal allegations against him.