HALL OF FAME!!!!!

40 years ago on this date, August 30, 1966, Pete Rose hit a home run from both sides of the plate for the Cincinnati Reds, against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Pete Rose belongs in the Hall of Fame period!!! His record of 4,256 hits will most likely never be broken. He won Rookie of the Year in 1963, Most Valuable Player in 1973 and finished runner-up for the 1968 MVP award behind Bob Gibson. He has a career average of .303.

Yes "Charlie Hustle" did bet on baseball almost 20 years ago and was convicted by Bartlett A. Giamatti with a lifetime banishment from the game, however, he has since admitted to his faults, served his time, and deserves a shot. His numbers don't lie, and if some of the players in the "steroid" era get elected for their juiced stats, then baseball will and has done a great injustice. It's up to Bud Selig to lift the ban, who is a great friend of the late Giamatti.

Ironically today in 1905 the man who Pete Rose broke his hit record, Ty Cobb, made his major league hitting debut with the Detroit Tigers (photo/si.com)