People will argue whether Rose’s name should appear on the ballot, but I don’t actually think it matters. I don’t think Rose ever would have gotten 75 percent of the vote. I don’t think he will ever get in the Hall of Fame. Yes, there are those who favor putting him in after he dies, which seems particularly cruel, but most of them misunderstand his ban. It’s not a lifetime ban. It’s a permanent ban. I just don’t see how enough momentum builds for removing the ban after he dies. It’s a sad story. And it is Rose’s own fault — not only for breaking one of baseball’s most cherished rules but for refusing to come clean and accept his punishment right at the start. I feel quite sure that even after all he did, if he had said to Giamatti that he was wrong and he wanted to change his life, he would be in Cooperstown and in baseball today.