NEW YORK -- Pete Rose, whose slashing singles and head-first slides once made him the embodiment of America's national sport, Thursday was banished from baseball for life by Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti, ending a gambling scandal that has shadowed the game for six months.
Rose, baseball's all-time hit leader and former Cincinnati Reds manager, may apply for reinstatement in a year.
Saying he believed Rose bet on Reds games, Giamatti insisted he had upheld the power and mandate of his office to maintain baseball's integrity. In Cincinnati, where his wife Carol gave birth to a daughter Tuesday, Rose again denied gambling on baseball or having a gambling problem.
'I made some mistakes and I'm being punished for those mistakes,' said Rose, whose job as manager terminated with the signing of the agreement at 4 p.m. EDT Wednesday. 'The settlement is fair.
'My life is baseball. I hope to get back into baseball as soon as I possibly can. Regardless of what the commissioner said today, I did not bet on baseball. That's all I can say.'
Standing before a major-league logo that was framed appropriately in funeral black, Giamatti set no timetable for Rose's reinstatement. He said the burden was on Rose to show a 'redirected, reconfigured, rehabilitated life.'
Giamatti stressed there was no evidence Rose bet against his club. He also said any decision on Rose's Hall of Fame credentials belonged to the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Voting guidelines for the Hall of Fame include the issue of integrity.
'There is no deal,' Giamatti said. 'There is a standing major-league rule on the subject. It is not Pete Rose's rule. It is not Bart Giamatti's rule. There is no automaticity. There is no guarantee.'
The ban went into effect immediately. Rose, 48, may not hold any job under major-league jurisdiction, whether as an official or broadcaster. Thursday afternoon Reds owner Marge Schott named Coach Tommy Helms to succeed Rose.
'It's been a difficult time, but I think everyone was getting tired of hearing the same thing,' she said. 'The outcome is sad, but it's something the commissioner had to do to protect the sport.'
So marked an apparent end to what has become baseball's biggest scandal since Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis ruled members of the 1919 Chicago 'Black Sox' conspired to throw the World Series. Ironically, Chicago's opponent that year was Cincinnati.
Fourteen major leaguers have received lifetime bans in baseball history. Two of them, Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays, had their suspensions lifted. Both worked for casinos after their retirement from baseball.
Rose may face further difficulties. A federal grand jury in Cincinnati has been investigating his income tax returns the past several months. The investigation is said to focus on whether Rose failed to report race track winnings.
With emotion he has not shown since he broke Ty Cobb's career hit record Sept. 11, 1985, the man once known as Charlie Hustle told a separate news conference in Cincinnati: 'As you can imagine, this a very sad day. I've been in baseball three decades and to think I'm going to be out of baseball for a very short period of time hurts.'
But there is no guarantee of a brief absence. Under major-league Rule 21, a player or manager betting on games involving his own team shall be declared 'permanently ineligible.' Rule 15 (c) allows a banished figure to apply for reinstatement after one year.
According to the agreement:
-There will be no further hearing on the matter by Giamatti or the courts.
-Rose acknowledges the sole and exclusive authority of the commissioner to resolve the case.
-Rose acknowledges Giamatti acted without bias.
-Rose neither denies nor admits he bet on big-league games, but acknowledges the commisioner has a 'factual basis' for imposing the penalty.
'The banishment for life of Pete Rose from baseball is the sad end of a sorry episode,' Giamatti said. 'One of the game's greatest players has engaged in a variety of acts which have stained the game, and he must live with the consequences of those acts.'
President Bush, vacationing in Kennebunkport, Maine, said of the Rose announcement, 'As a baseball fan, it's very interesting.'
Former baseball executive Buzzie Bavasi said punishment was called for.
'When it comes to baseball, I'm a purist,' he told San Diego radio station KSDO. 'Pete Rose is a young man who knows the rules of baseball better than anyone. It seems to me he did bet on the Reds and the commissioner had no alternative but to suspend him.'
Added Reds third baseman Chris Sabo: 'He broke a rule and the rule was there. The team will be happy that the thing is over with.'
Reuven Katz, Rose's lawyer and agent, told the Cincinnati news conference the manager denies betting on baseball.
'From the outset, Pete has consistently and regularly denied that he ever bet on a baseball game and he still denies that,' Katz said.
Giamatti said the agreement began to evolve in late April. Deputy Commissioner Fay Vincent said he traveled to Dayton, Ohio, to meet Katz. Vincent said he rejected some prosposals by Katz at that meeting.
According to Vincent, Rose's side renewed the discussions in late July in New York. Talks toward the resolution began last Friday.
Katz said Rose agreed to the arrangement in the 'best interests' of his family, team, fans and the game itself. Rose apologized for the controversy and said he did not want the matter to linger.
Rose was asked why he agreed to the suspension if he did not bet on baseball games, and he stood for several seconds without answering. Katz stepped in and read the section of the rules under which Rose was disciplined.
Giamatti said he believed the preponderance of evidence against Rose collected by special investigator John Dowd, a Washington attorney.
'I have concluded that he bet on baseball,' Giamatti said. 'I have concluded the factual basis presented in the Dowd report, which was not challenged in any hearing, therefore represents the factual basis. It makes no difference whether or not he bet against the Reds. It is the covert action of betting on baseball that is the issue.'
Giamatti said gambling rehabilitation was not part of the arrangement with Rose and such treatment is 'entirely in Mr. Rose's hands.' The commissioner added gambling is 'corrosive' to the game.
'I cannot confidently assert a person is ill or not ill,' the commissioner said. 'I'm not a clinical psychologist, nor have I spoken to Mr. Rose. I'm not here to prescribe treatment or diagnose it.'
Said Rose: 'I don't think I have a gambling problem at all.'
Like other commissioners before him, Giamatti said he was acting to protect the integrity of the sport.
'Should any other occasion arise when acts are said to be committed that are contrary to interests of the game or that undermine the integrity of baseball, I fully intend to use such a process of procedure to get to the truth and, if need be, root out offending behavior. Iintend to use, in short, every lawful and ethical means to defend and protect of the game.'
The saga began Feb. 20, when Rose was summoned to a New York meeting with then-Commissioner Peter Ueberroth. A month later, the commissioner announced he was probing 'serious allegations' against Rose.
Then came a series of printed allegations, including one that Rose was the subject of interest by the Internal Revenue Service.
Giamatti set a May 25 hearing and had Dowd's report delivered to Rose's attorneys. On June 19, Rose sued Giamatti in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court, seeking to stop the hearing and prevent Giamatti from deciding the case. The lawsuit revealed that Ron Peters had accused Rose of betting on Reds games.
On June 26, Judge Norbert Nadel ruled Giamatti had 'prejudged Rose' and granted a two-week temporary restraining order keeping the commissioner from going ahead with his hearing.
The legal wrangling continued until U.S. District Judge John Holschuh in Columbus, Ohio, ruled the case belonged in federal court. The case was scheduled to begin Monday.
Giamatti predicted the game would suffer no long-term damage.
'It is probably stronger for this,' he said. 'I and future commissioners will pursue this ... so in the end the American public gains.'
The ban goes into effect immediately, with the Reds to name a new manager later in the day.
Giamatti said he believed the preponderance of evidence against Rose collected by special investigator John Dowd and believes the 48-year-old manager did indeed bet on baseball. However, Giamatti said he had no evidence Rose bet against the Reds.
'I have concluded that he bet on baseball,' Giamatti said. 'I have concluded the factual basis presented in the Dowd report, which was not challenged in any hearing, therefore represents the factul basis. It makes no difference whether or not he bet against the Reds. It is the covert action of betting on baseball that is the issue.'
Giamatti said gambling rehabilitation was not part of the arrangement with Rose and such treatment is 'entirely in Mr. Rose's hands.' The commissioner added gambling is 'corrosive' to the game.
'I cannot confidently assert a person is ill or not ill,' commissioner said. 'I'm not a psychologist nor have I spoken to Mr. Rose. I'm not here to prescribe treatment or diagnose it.'
Like other commissioners before him, Giamatti said he was acting to protect the 'integrity' of the sport.
'Should any other occasion arise when acts are said to be committed contrary to interests of the game, I fully intend to use such process of procedure to get to the root. I intend to use every lawful and ethical means to protect the integrity of the game.'
Until Rose's difficulties surfaced, his flawless baseball credentials as the man who broke Ty Cobb's hit record made him a virtual certainty for election to baseball's Hall of Fame. Now, his place in baseball history remains unclear.
Rose, for years the very symbol of baseball, was accused not only of gambling on the game he played with such unrelenting verve, but depicted as a man consumed with sports betting and drawn into a seedy world of bookmakers and bet runners. He was said to have run up gambling debts of more than $400,000 and faced the possibility of prosecution on tax evasion charges.
'Let there be do doubt of our vigilance and patience in protecting the game from blemish or disgrace,' the commissioner said. 'The matter of Mr. Rose is now closed. Let no one think it hurt baseball. Let it be clear no individual is superior to the game.'
Giamatti said he was approached by Reuven Katz, Rose's agent and lawyer, in July about a possible settlement to avert a hearing.
'At that point, I thought a long time, taking the totality of the documentary evidence, taking into account things later admitted to,' Giamatti said. 'I decided no decision I could take honorably on that basis except permanent ineligibility. In regard to time frame, there was an open mind on my part.
'There really wasn't a negotiation. In late July there was a position I took. I had to make a judgment as if there wouldn't be a hearing.'
Giamatti insisted there is no agreement concerning reinstatment. He said there is a standing baseball rule (15 C) on the matter, leaving such a decision to the commissioner.
'There is no deal,' he said. 'There is a standing major league rule on the subject. It is not Pete Rose's rule. It is not Bart Giamatti's rule. There is no automaticity. There is no guarantee.
'One must wait a year before reapplying for reinstatement. It is the complete and sole discretion of the commissioner as to whether that application for reinstatement will be looked on favorably. It also says there is no agreement, sidebar or deal or whisper that is not included in the document.'
Thursday's announcement comes at a time with Rose's team making a steady slide in the standings. The Reds began the season strongly but a long losing streak in July dropped them from contention.
Cincinnati defeated Chicago 8-5 Wednesday and is in fourth place in the National League West, 12 games out of first place. However, Rose was immune from dismissal. The courts prevented Reds owner Marge Schott from taking punitive action against him. But now, whether Schott wants it or not, her team will get a new manager.
