Cheating and betting on one's own sport are VERY different. One hurts the integrity of the game on an indivudual level. Not that cheating should be accepted, but it does not threaten the game as much as fixes/betting on the game.
Cheaters are disgraces in my book, btw. But they do not threaten the integrity of the game as much as one willing to gamble on their own team.
Gambling on other sports? That has me confused. WTF does that have to do with the price of tea in china? Betting on your own GAME is the issue... not gambling at large.
I just figured that if a guy plays baseball and gambles on, oh let's say, soccer, then he should at least be watched, because what's to stop him from gambling on his own sport? Besides, I think it was only Rose who bet on his own team, whereas it was a collection of players from 1919 that conspired to throw the series.So a guy who shoots himself full of (un)natural chemicals in order to drive a ball farther and therefore try for the record books isn't as bad as someone who bets on his own team to win every time he does bet on them? The integrity of the game has been lost for years, likely for decades at that. The fact that a guy bet on his own team to win, I believe, is at least on a par with a guy who cheats to help his team win.
I am not saying I accept cheating. But you are totally missing the point here in regard to betting on your own game. You DO understand that by betting on your team to win, that when you DONT bet on your team it is likely that you won't use every last measure to win that game and you might use TOO much to win the games you have money on (ie overusing a relief pitcher).And you totally lose me on the "if you bet on other sports you have to be watched" - that is a bit ludicrous unless it is apparant that a player/coach has a gambling problem which may lead to betting on their own sport/games.
To be honest, I don't know why I put that in there. I guess that because I have an addictive personality (that is, when I find something I like, I keep doing it for a long time) I think others have a similar problem with becoming compulsive gamblers or something to that effect.(I'm not a compulsive gambler, but that's because I stay away from it)But I do understand what you mean on not betting on teams on certain days. I guess I had the mindset that it shouldn't matter if you have money on a team that day or not (if you do gamble), you should still play as hard as you can.
I hear ya - at least you are openminded enough to recognize something that at first you may not have thought about. A nice and far to rare a trait here.You do bring up an interesting point about cheating though, and my take is the following: Much as I disdain cheating, you need consistency within a sport. So, if a corked bat, or repeated scuffing/spitballs don't warrant being excluded from the hall, I can't see why steroid users would be subject to anything worse.
Personally, cheating is cheating.
Repeated cheating should mean no hall. But that is not how baseball has approached things (i.e. spit/scuff/cork) so if they allow for that cheating with a joke and a smile, you need consistency when looking at cheating through roids.
He only revolutionized the game...
