Former Cincinnati Reds star Pete Rose took a swipe at the Houston Astros for their sign-stealing scandal, arguing that while what he did was wrong, the Astros scandal is worse because it tainted baseball.

Rose was unceremoniously kicked out of Major League Baseball and levied a lifetime ban for betting on baseball while he was managing the Reds. But as far as Rose is concerned, what the Astros did was far worse than anything he ever did, NJ.com reports.

“I bet on my own team to win. That’s what I did in a nutshell. I was wrong, but I didn’t taint the game,” Rose insisted. “I didn’t try to steal any games. I never voted against my team. I bet on my team every night because that’s the confidence that I had in my players. And I was wrong.

“But this (scandal) is a little different. It’s a lot different, actually, and I think that’s why the commissioner came down so hard,” Rose added.

Still, Rose said he supports the punishments meted out to Astros manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow, both of whom received one-year suspensions from the league before being fired by the team.

But Rose wondered why none of the players were punished.

“So they fire the GM, they fire the manager, and (MLB) probably is going to get (Red Sox manager) Alex Cora, who was the (Astros) bench coach at the time,” Rose noted. “But what about the players who were behind this and taking the knowledge? Should they get off scot-free?

“Don’t you have to do something to the players who were accepting the stolen signs? Nothing’s been done. Is that fair?” he asked.

Rose also commented on the Astros using cameras and electronic monitors to steal opposing team signs and claimed that he “can’t imagine doing something like that.”

Known for decades as “Charlie Hustle,” Rose would easily qualify for the Baseball Hall of Fame, were it not for his lifetime ban. He has tried numerous times to no avail to convince various MLB commissioners that his ban should be repealed.

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