ROSE BUILT OWN 'PRISON' TO LIVE IN.

Byline: STEVE DILBECK

Pete Rose will never get my vote for the Hall of Fame.

No matter how many times he changes his story, paints himself as a victim, writes another book, gives another TV interview, makes a feeble attempt at apologizing.

There is no penance for his crime. No time served for good behavior. None of the rehabilitation he longs for, no pat on the back and all is forgiven.

You bet on baseball, and it's a lifetime ban. That's the sentence, the one he agreed to in 1989.

It is supposed to be the ultimate deterrent to keep those in sports from committing sport's most detestable crime. Do it and you're out forever. You've been warned up front.

There is no going back on this. No commuting the sentence 15 years later. No special rules for special players.

There is absolutely no arguing Rose is a first-ballot inductee in the Hall based on his accomplishments. His not being in Cooperstown is a true baseball tragedy for fans, players and himself - and one that is completely his responsibility.

At the most fundamental core of sports, each fan has the right to believe every player, coach and manager is doing their utmost to win.

It cuts to the very heart, to the integrity of the game.

You don't mess with this. It's why baseball has its Black Sox. You must believe everything is above board. It's a fair game or the sport is a fraud, everything a lie.

Bart Giamatti understood this when he banned Rose from baseball in August of 1989, a move that made Rose ineligible for the Hall of Fame. The John Dowd Report on Rose's activities was extensive and clear.

While manager of the Reds, Rose bet on baseball - including his own team - for three years. During one remarkable three-month stretch in '87, Rose placed 412 bets.

He went into heavy gambling debt with bookies. Some refused to place more of his bets.

This is not what you want from the manager of a baseball team. Someone in debt, putting themselves at risk of being obligated to organized crime.

That the Hit King has come forward now and confessed should surprise absolutely nobody, and it should change nothing. When it involves gambling, contrition never should.

Some people think this harsh. Where's his second chance? Recognizing his rehabilitation? The forgiveness?

Listen, Rose is not behind bars. He's not doing hard labor. If anything, the controversy has been, and will continue to be, a financial boon to Rose. He's living the good life here in the Valley.

But he should never be allowed to manage another major-league game. He should never be allowed in the Hall.

Many baseball people whose views I respect maintain what Rose did as a player should be separate from his downfall as a manager. That you just can't keep the all-time hit leader out of Cooperstown.

It's called the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The entire game of baseball. There is no division between players and managers. Your plaque lists all your accomplishments in the game.

The only person who has kept Rose out of the Hall is Rose. Not Giamatti, not Dowd, not Fay Vincent and not Bud Selig. Rose has done that. He sullied his name, sullied the game.

Think he understands that? I'm doubting it. He presents himself more the victim. Even his new book's name, ``My Prison Without Bars'' is laughable. Poor Pete. Look what everyone's done to him.

He is not coming off contrite, just savvy. His time to be voted into the Hall by the writers expires with the 2005 ballot. After that, he can get in the back door with the veteran's committee, but he knows many of them are vehemently opposed to his induction.

And then there are the 500,000 first-run copies of his new book to sell, which is not to be confused with his 1989 book ``My Story,'' in which he remained defiant and denied ever betting on baseball.

What is there to believe? Rose said all those bets on the Reds were always to win. Maybe it's true, but how do you know?

Not that it really matters. Bet to win or lose, and it impacts what you do. Makes every move suspect. Managers help dictate the outcome of the game.

If Charlie Hustle has 25 grand on the Reds to win that night, is his team perspective proper? Maybe he starts a star outfielder who really needs a day off or goes to an overworked closer or stretches everything for that game, losing the big picture.

Nothing Rose has said or written indicates he understands the danger gambling presents to sport by those involved in the game. There is no reason to believe he ever will.

Rose can be an absolute delight to be around. He can be truly charming. And there is no question about his love for the game, nor how impressively he played it.

But every player in the game has heard the message: Gamble on baseball and you're banned forever.

It's a deterrent that needs to be backed up. To keep people's belief in the game, to keep suspicions away.

Selig needs to do what's best for the game, make the hard decision and continue the ban on Rose. But if he ever weakens, here is one vote Rose will never get.

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Photo:

PETE ROSE