It is time to take this opportunity to thank Pete Rose for helping to make sure he does not get to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

For years we listened to his moaning that he never bet on baseball. Then came the “I bet on baseball, but not on my team.”

Now we have the “I bet everyday on my team.”

First, he was a fool to bet on his team everyday. Ever heard of the team that went 162-0?

Next, one needs to wonder how he ever stayed out of the poor house with all the money he bet on games his team lost.

Next, just why did he have to bet to prove that he was a believer in his players?

That seems to be what he wants us to believe now. Because he bet in violation of every baseball rule we should reward him because he bet on his team to win,.

Gee, what a swell guy.

This is called desperation and who knows, he may be lying again. Maybe he didn’t bet on every game, but he decided that was the direction he needed to take his story to counter the negative effects he has received for years from his story that he didn’t bet.

He needs to hear the story of the little girl who kept hollering wolf trying to trick all the people. Then when the real wolf came … you know the story.

This is a very sad story about a great baseball player who is either clueless or so confused about the truth he wouldn’t know it if it struck him in the face. Either way, he is not going to the Hall of Fame.

The irony is that as time goes by, there will be sympathy for his position outside the hallowed halls. Just when the sympathy might begin to build, along comes the only man who can stop the momentum – Pete Rose.

We repeat ourselves here.

The golden rule of the game is you do not bet. It destroys the credibility of the baseball.

For that reason alone, Rose only visits the Hall.

Now we find there are even more reasons to keep him out.

He is a liar of extraordinary length about the game he says he loves.

Sorry, but this door is permanently shut.

He will probably continue to become a pathetic figure, molding stories to try and move the public attitude that he himself set long ago when he made those calls from the clubhouse and dugout to his bookie.

Sad, but there is no one to blame but himself.

Old Town native Gary Thorne is an ESPN and ABC sportscaster.