Opinion: Pete Rose deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, but we'll never forget him anyway

I never really liked Pete Rose, except for the fact that, by one metric, he is the greatest hitter ever born. He probably always will be. Rose, Major League Baseball's all-time hit leader, died Monday at the age of 83. I'm probably in the minority of Cincinnatians who considered him an embarrassment long before his betting scandal, but he belongs in the Hall of Fame.

Rose deserves a place in Cooperstown, but he doesn't need it. In the annals of baseball, Rose is bigger than the Hall of Fame. Tony Perez needs the Hall of Fame to be remembered 50 years from now. Rose will never be forgotten. Ever.

Still, Rose wanted to be inducted into the hall. He deserved to stand in front of a microphone in Cooperstown, dressed in a gold jacket as he accepted the adoration that 4,256 hits earned him . True baseball fans can hardly wrap their minds around that statistic. It's an average of more than 200 hits a year for 21 seasons.

Deep down Rose thought he could bet on baseball because the rules never applied to him. He was, at best, a middle-of-the-road minor-leaguer, but that was always the amazing thing about Rose. He had almost no natural athleticism. He couldn't run, throw, or hit for power, yet he elevated himself above other players. What Rose did with the talent he possessed was nothing short of defying the baseball gods. He exemplified that anything is possible with enough guts and determination.

Jason Williams remembers Pete Rose: Work hard. Play hard. Good things happen. Never forget Pete Rose, the ball player

Yes, he bet on baseball and denied it for a decade and a half, but he never bet against the Reds. That makes a difference to me, and it certainly did to Rose. He was a lousy bettor who lost a lot, but he did have an honor code in that regard − no matter how tempting it must have been at times.

Major League Baseball wants us to believe it can't suffer the indignity of having Rose in the Hall of Fame. What about the Houston Astros cheating scandal? Did the MLB punish that franchise by taking away its championship for stealing signs? No. How many times has baseball been sullied since Rose left the game? MLB knew what was going on during the steroid era, but because home runs brought fans to the ballpark, the league turned a blind eye. As Barry Bonds' physique got bigger, so did MLB owners' bank accounts.

Cincinnati' Pete Rose through the years: From Western Hills to the Reds

I grew up with the Big Red Machine when the first question you had every summer morning was what did the L.A. Dodgers do last night on the West Coast? As much as I love the sport, baseball is slowly dying. My three kids couldn't sit through a nine-inning game if their lives depended on it. Speeding up the game is a good start, but baseball needs to do everything it can to improve its image.

Major League Baseball should have forgiven Rose and recognized him in a joyous celebration of his accomplishments while he was alive. Think of how small, and I do mean small, baseball is going to look if they induct him into the Hall of Fame posthumously. Inducting Rose, when he was alive, would have actually meant something − if only for the TV ratings.

Terence Shannon lives in Mount Washington.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Opinion: Pete Rose deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, but we'll never forget him anyway