Thursday, July 17 Pete Rose on Trial: summary of testimony By Greg Garber ESPN.com |
|||||||||||||||||||
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Here is a running summary of ESPN's "Pete Rose On Trial," a mock trial held Thursday at Harvard Law School's Austin Hall courtroom. A cast of legal and baseball experts debated whether Rose, the all-time major league leader in hits (4,256), should be admitted to the Baseball Hall of Fame nearly 14 years after he signed an agreement with baseball commissioner A Bartlett Giamatti declaring himself permanently ineligible for induction at Cooperstown in accordance with Major League Rule 21.
Alan Dershowitz Dershowitz details his plans to prove that Rose bet on Major League Baseball games, citing the 225-page Dowd Report, authored by former federal prosecutor John Dowd. The prosecutor insists that Rose must admit he bet on games -- something, to this point, he has refused to do -- before his inclusion in the Hall of Fame should be considered. "The ball is in his court," Dershowitz says. "He has to do the right thing."
To the jury, Dershowitz adds: "Do the right thing, not the easy thing."
Johnnie Cochran First Cochran lists Rose's baseball accomplishments. Then, he unveils his strategy to attack the credibility of the Dowd Report. He describes it as a prosecution document that is compromised by several conflicts of interest. Cochran also questions the agreement Rose signed with then-commissioner Giamatti. In the end, after the judge asks him to get to the point, Cochran says: "The issue is whether Peter Edward Rose is eligible for the Hall of Fame."
Without Rose, Cochran says, the Baseball Hall of Fame will be the "Hall of Shame."
Lester Munson Munson explains that the Dowd Report reached the conclusion that Rose had bet on baseball in a "major way." Munson also related a story that Rose had an associate in the stands relay out-of-town scores to him when the Cincinnati scoreboard was broken. Dershowitz asks Munson if there was a conspiracy to keep Rose out of the Hall of Fame. "No," Munson answers.
In his cross-examination, Cochran tries to rattle Munson, suggesting that the Hall of Fame unfairly changed its rules and prevented Rose from annually petitioning for inclusion.
Prosecution witness: Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer, a three-time American League Cy Young Award winner, gives his deposition via videotape. Testimony: Palmer says that his interpretation of Rule 21-D is that if anyone involved in a Major League Baseball game "that's when you will be banned permanently from baseball." Palmer relates an anecdote of then-commissioner Bowie Kuhn saying at a baseball dinner that his job is largely "trying to maintain the integrity of baseball." Prodded by Dershowitz, Palmer lists a number of ways a manager could adversely influence the outcome of a game, such as leaving a pitcher in the game too long. Palmer also describes the value of inside information, such as player injuries, to bettors. If he could speak to Rose, Palmer says, he would say, "This is not about you and me. For you to be where you belong, you have to let us know what really happened. And be responsible for it."
Cochran gets Palmer to admit he never read the Dowd Report in its entirety. Palmer also concedes that he has no direct evidence that Rose ever did anything to hinder his team's performance.
Dr. Jon Grant Cochran, on cross-examination, makes it clear that Grant never examined Rose and is not in a position to call Rose a compulsive gambler.
Grant acknowledges that between 3 and 4 percent of adults can be classified as compulsive gamblers in a sickness that is similar to alcohol and drug addiction. Under prodding from Cochran, Grant agrees that sports leagues have habitually failed to address compulsive gambling as a sickness.
Steve Garvey "I like Pete Rose," Garvey says. "Nobody played the game harder than Pete Rose. Peter Rose had and has a problem, and that's gambling. If he looked in the camera and said, 'I made a mistake. I ask for forgiveness ...' he'd be in the Hall of Fame today." Garvey says he thinks Rose is moving toward admitting he has a disease and addressing it in a professional manner.
Cochran tells Garvey that while Rose has admitted to gambling on non-baseball sports, he has steadfastly denied that he bet on Major League Baseball games.
Dan Shaughnessy Dershowitz asks Shaughnessy if Rose would be considered for enshrinement if he admitted to betting on baseball. Says Shaughnessy, "Absolutely." Cochran brings up several Hall of Famers with character flaws like drinking, "womanizing" and alleged racism. He asks Shaughnessy if it was fair of the commissioner to change the eligibility rules after Rose signed the agreement with Giamati.
"The king is doing something the people oppose," Cochran says, framing his entire argument.
Defense witness: Hall of Fame outfielder and all-time career leader in home runs (755), RBI (2,297) and total bases (6,856). Testimony: As Cochran's first defense witness, Aaron speaks fondly of his baseball accomplishments, but says that his Hall of Fame enshrinement in 1982 was "the highest honor that I have received." Aaron details Rose's many feats in baseball and says that Rose "deserves to have his plaque be put into Cooperstown. He's been punished enough." Baseball fans, Aaron says, agree with him. Aaron says that when Rose was introduced in October 1999 in Atlanta, as a member of the 30-man All-Century team, he received a bigger ovation than Aaron. Dershowitz asks Aaron if Rose had, in fact, bet on baseball games if he should admit it. Aaron says yes and then added that "the sports world would forgive him."
On redirect, Cochran tells Aaron that Rose had never admitted to betting on baseball.
Arnie Wexler "We need to treat all the addictions the same way," Wexler says. "That's the real problem in this country, but it will be changing in the next few years. Baseball needs to get real pro-active on this issue. All professional sports need to wake up and get their head out of the sand." Dershowitz describes Wexler's personal history as a compulsive gambler and asks him if it's possible to turn a life around by admitting the problem. "Absolutely," Wexler says.
And what if he doesn't? Wexler says he isn't so sure.
Bill James James cites the NFL's brief suspension of Alex Karras and Paul Hornung, and their subsequent reinstatement, after they bet on league games. Baseball, he says, will survive Pete Rose and his gambling transgressions. Dershowitz attacks James' assertion in a recent book that the Dowd Report is a flawed document. In the most lively give-and-take so far, Dershowitz questions James' understanding of the facts. Finally, Dershowitz asks, why would baseball be "out to get" its most valuable asset?
Cochran, sounding a familiar theme of executive privilege, asks James how many players are enshrined in the Hall of Fame that were at one point ineligible. James says the number approaches 50.
Bill "The Spaceman" Lee Cochran walks Lee through his own baseball transgressions -- spitballs and emery boards -- before turning the subject to Pete Rose. Lee admits he dislikes Rose - "He's a pain in the ass" -- but says he is the greatest two-strike hitter he ever saw. Should he be in the Hall of Fame? "Most definitely," Lee says. "He's got the numbers. He's the kind of guy you hate, but if you were putting together a team, you'd draft him." Dershowitz spars with Lee, who says he doesn't believe Rose manipulated the results of Cincinnati Reds games as manager.
"It's not a capital offense," Lee says in his final discussion with Cochran.
Dave Parker At any time, Cochran asks Parker, did he ever see Pete Rose bet on baseball, as a player or manager? "No," Parker said. Did he ever see him throw a game? "No," Parker repeated. Dershowitz asked Parker if, given he was presented indisputable evidence that Rose bet on baseball, Rose should be in the Hall of Fame. Parker says he is not aware that that kind of evidence exists. Should Rose be in the Hall of Fame? "Without a doubt," Parker says. "It's all about numbers. He's the all-time hit king." "Are you in the Hall of Fame?" Cochran asks.
"No," Parker says, "but I should be."
Johnnie Cochran "Enough is enough," Cochran says. "Enough is enough. This man, this icon. ... Everybody agrees that, based on his on-field exploits, he is entitled to be in the Hall of Fame. The question is whether he's eligible for admission." Cochran's main thrust is that the Dowd Report is biased and wrong, and that Rose has never admitted he bet on baseball. He claims that Rose signed his agreement with Giamatti thinking he would be admitted to the Hall of Fame in a few years. When Giamatti died, Cochran asserts, his successor Fay Vincent changed the rules so that Rose's eligibility would not be considered.
"You have the power," Cochran tells the jury. "Fourteen years of banishment ... enough is enough. Now it's time to bring Pete Rose home -- home to the Hall of Fame."
Alan Dershowitz Dershowitz calls Cochran's "brilliant" closing argument a multiple-choice defense. "If you don't like the first choice, pick the second," Dershowitz says. Citing the Dowd Report, Dershowitz points to evidence that Rose bet on baseball, in particular a Cincinnati-Montreal game. "This alone must persuade you he bet on baseball," Dershowitz says. "This alone must persuade you that he lied about it. "If you believe he didn't bet on baseball, put him in the Hall of Fame. If you agree with the prosecution that he bet on baseball while denying it, keep him out." Finally, borrowing from a certain nationally prominent defense attorney, Dershowitz pauses dramatically.
"If he bet on the game," he says, wagging a finger, "there's no Hall of Fame."
Judge Catherine Crier Greg Garber is a senior writer for ESPN.com |
|