[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 19429]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             REGARDING POSSIBLE REINSTATEMENT OF PETE ROSE

  (Mrs. SCHMIDT asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. SCHMIDT. Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to discuss Major 
League Baseball's possible reinstatement of Pete Rose. I was pleased to 
hear reports over the weekend that Commissioner Bud Selig is seriously 
considering ending the ban that has kept baseball's all-time hits 
leader from consideration for enshrinement in the Hall of Fame.
  Beginning in 1963 until his playing days ended in 1986, Pete Rose 
accumulated some of the most heralded baseball statistics known to the 
game. Most notably are his 4,256 career hits, a Major League record, 
one that may never be broken. Pete did not get this record without 
earning the nickname ``Charlie Hustle.''
  It will always be hard to forget that September evening in 1985 when 
Rose belted his record-breaking hit into left-center off pitcher Eric 
Show of the San Diego Padres. Additionally, Rose won two World Series 
championships with the Cincinnati Reds in 1975 and 1976, a squad 
commonly known as the Big Red Machine, and also one with the 
Philadelphia Phillies in 1980.
  Even Pete Rose has admitted to making some serious mistakes in his 
life. Mr. Speaker, we are a country of second chances and of 
forgiveness. After 20 years of Major League Baseball banishment, Pete 
Rose deserves to have his second chance.

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