Fink and Threepiess aside, here is my argument against Pete Rose for the HOF.
If Pete Rose had simply left baseball, cold turkey, after his playing days had ended, he was a HOF shoo-in. He was one of those rare athletes who squeezed talent out of every square inch of his body. He wanted to win every game he played in. He may have shortened another player's career trying to win the All-Star game. I don't necessarily believe that there is one and only one best way to play the game, but Pete Rose's approach to the game left me doubting myself on that score.
But then there is Pete Rose the manager. Pete Rose compromised the integrity of the game of baseball through his gambling activities. One might argue that steroids also compromise the integrity of the game, and it is unavoidable that multiple steroid users will enter the Hall. Since steroid cheats will surely be in the HOF, why not Rose?
I wouldn't care to see Mark McGuire, Roger Clemens or Barry Bonds in the HOF, among others. But let's say I was forced to cast a vote for one player and my choices were Bonds or Rose. Bonds cheated, true, but the selfish motivations he had for using steroids did have the beneficial side effect of helping his teams win ballgames. He could react quicker, hit the ball harder, stay healthy and recover more quickly from fatigue or injury. If I was a teammate of Barry Bonds', it wouldn't bother me that he was using steroids. The guy is hitting getting on base all the time and slugging balls like crazy.
On the other hand, my manager Pete Rose bet on us to win the first two games against San Diego and didn't place a bet on the last two games against them. Not hard to figure out which of his starting pitchers he has confidence in. And it's easy to see that he's going to work his best relievers like crazy during those first two games and they'll get all the rest they want during those last two games. The first two games of that 4-gamer with the Padres will be managed like games 6 & 7 of the World Series, the last two like a split-squad Grapefruit League game against the University of Florida. And all of that so Pete Rose (who makes a very good living as a major league manager) can make an extra $10,000.
Both Bonds and Rose did damage to the game of baseball, but Rose did much more damage to his team through his actions - and non-actions - than did Bonds. And that is the heart of my problem with Pete Rose: in a team sport, he cheated his team. If you must cheat, at least help your team win.