A 6-point plan for Pete Rose's reinstatement

If Pete Rose wants to get reinstated to baseball, he's going to have to take a proactive stance when he finally gets his hearing with new commissioner Rob Manfred.

The latest revelations — that Rose bet on baseball and the Reds while still playing — are the latest blows to his case. Even before the ESPN report, his chances seemed to be slim, bordering on none. (Getting in the Hall of Fame is a separate issue. Suffice to say, Rose is not getting in under the current rules even if Manfred reinstates him. He would need 75 percent of the votes from the Veterans Committee, and he'd be lucky to get 50 percent).

But he still has a chance with Manfred. So here's some unsolicited advice on how to make his case. Call it a six-point plan:

Step 1: Admit everything you did. Lay it all out. Any good lawyer will tell you never to put the accused on the stand in their trial. But Rose's case is a desperate one. He needs to make his own case.

Give the details of your betting on baseball — when it started, no matter how early. If you bet on a Elder-West High game that you played in, tell Manfred.

Nothing Rose admits to is going to make his case worse. The findings of John Dowd that proved he bet on baseball and the Reds as manager of the Reds are as damning as it gets. There are no degrees when it comes to breaking Rule 21.

In fact, you could argue that betting on your team as manager is much worse than betting on it as a player.

Step 2: Apologize. Profusely. Have a set of letters that you will send to Dowd, Bart Giamatti's family, Fay Vincent and Bud Selig expressing regret for what you put them through all these years by lying about what you did.

Be prepared to read a statement to all baseball fans telling them how deeply sorry you are for what you did.

Step 3: Lay out a plan on what kind of conditions you're willing to accept as part of reinstatement. Tell Manfred you don't want a job in baseball, that you merely want to be part of the game.

Rose has a lot to offer. No one speaks more enthusiastically about the game. He could be a great ambassador.

Players today have no memory of Rose as a player. But when he talks baseball, they listen. Barry Larkin eloquently stated how much Rose had to offer to today's player.

"Unfortunately, these kids don't have a personal relationship with him," Larkin said. "I know he could have made a positive impact on somebody. But, unfortunately, for these kids, they haven't had the opportunity to be around him."

Step 4: Offer to speak at every spring training camp in baseball on evils of betting on the game and evils of breaking the rules in general.

Step 5: End all ties with the casino you work for. Obviously gambling is legal and baseball isn't shy about taking advertising money from the gambling industry.

But it just looks bad when the living, breathing exhibit violating Rule 21 works a few hundred steps from a sports book where you can bet on the game.

Step 6: Tell Manfred you're done with betting on sports. Offer to take a polygraph to prove that any time the commissioner wants.

Will all of the above get Rose reinstated? I have no idea. Someone else could probably come up with a better plan. But it's pretty clear Rose is going to have to do something radically proactive to have a chance.

He's also going to have to accept some sort of limited reinstatement. I can't see Manfred ever allowing Rose to work for a team. So any reinstatement would allow Rose to be around the game more than actually in it.

That would be good for baseball and Rose.