Baseball's all-time leader in hits, Pete Rose, was banned from the sport in 1989 for allegedly gambling on games while he was a manager, but he'll make an appearance at a league event in 2015. On Thursday, the details of Max Scherzer's contract with the Washington Nationals have been disclosed.
Bud Selig will step down from his duty as commissioner on Sunday after being named the league's acting commissioner in 1992. Throughout that span he never reviewed, or at least never made a ruling, on Rose's case for reinstatement, which was filed in 1999. Rose also applied for reinstatement back in 1992 when Fay Vincent was commissioner, but Vincent also did not act on it.
As a result, Rose is not permitted to appear at any official Major League Baseball functions or events, but the league will make another exception for him in 2015 - he'll be a part of the All-Star Game in Cincinnati this July, says Reds' owner Bob Castellini. Rose was previously allowed to attend events for honoring the league's All-Century team (Fenway Park in 1999), which he was voted a member of, and the 25th anniversary of his record-breaking 4,192nd hit (Great American Ballpark in 2010).
Despite the severity of his actions that led to his lifetime ban, many fans and pundits believe he should be reinstated and elected into the Hall of Fame. Perhaps Selig's successor, Rob Manfred, will act on his application when he takes office on Sunday.
From the all-time hits leader to the richest right-handed pitcher in history, Max Scherzer signed a seven-year, $210 million contract with the Washington Nationals on Monday. The two sides finalized the deal and had a news conference on Thursday, after which the financial breakdown of the contract was revealed. Here are the details, provided by ESPN's Jayson Stark.
2015 - $10 million
2016 - $15 million
2017 - $15 million
2018 - $15 million
2019 - $35 million
2020 - $35 million
2021 - $35 million
It was previously reported that the team deferred $105 million of the deal and was planning to pay Scherzer $15 million annually over the course of 14 years. It appears that won't be the case because his $50 million signing bonus will be spread out over the course of the contract as well. Stark also notes there are bonuses for winning a Cy Young, Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, league MVP and LCS/World Series MVP or if he makes the All-Star team.
