Admitted cheater declares gambling on baseball worse than steroid use

Gaylord Perry would rather Barry Bonds join him in baseball’s Hall of Fame than Pete Rose.

That's the takeaway from comments Perry made during a conference call and reported by USA Today.

“Pete did the worst thing possible, worse than steroids: He put money on games, win or lose,” Perry said. “He’s paying the price.’

Of course Perry’s point of view is interesting since he is an admitted cheater himself, having used the spitball on his way to 314 wins pitching for the Giants, Indians, Rangers, Padres, Rangers, Yankees, Braves, Mariners and Royals.

Bonds, the all-time leader in home runs, never tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs but is widely suspected of using them to transform his body after Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa dominated headlines with their chase of Roger Maris’ home run record in the late 1990s.

Rose, baseball’s career hits leader, has been banned from baseball since 1989 and has admitted to betting on games when he was manager of the Reds.

While Bonds is eligible to be voted into the Hall of Fame, Rose currently is not.

According to a survey of voters, Bonds’ support is on the rise, though it remains to be seen if he reaches the necessary 75 percent threshold this year.

“I think he’ll get in eventually,” Perry said. “If you have a player like that, pretty soon, you put him in.’’

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