The Wednesday Wizengamot is here to pass judgment, and we hereby decree that Pete Rose should never be elected to Cooperstown, while it’s time to “forgive” Shoeless Joe Jackson for his alleged crimes. It’s that simple this week, as we combine two player explorations into one, based on the MLB news this week that both men are going to be “re-instated” from the ineligible list—even though both are dead and gone.

Welcome to the laughably ineffective reign of Commission Rob Manfred. He’s overseen cheating scandals and done little about it; he’s continued his predecessor’s penchant for making sure only Top 10 television markets win the World Series; and he’s been complicit in the fleecing of the general public for a lot of money that’s gone straight into the pockets of billionaire owners. Oh, how we miss Fay Vincent, right?

But we digress. Here’s our two cents, doubled up:

Pete Rose

“Charlie Hustle” really is a perfect example of quantity over quality in MLB history. Across parts of 24 seasons in the majors, he didn’t even compile 80 WAR. In fact, on a WAR/162 basis, he managed just 3.6 WAR—hardly warranting 17 All-Star appearances. He didn’t deserve the 1963 NL ROTY nod; he didn’t deserve the 1973 NL MVP hardware, either, let alone the 1975 World Series MVP trophy. He’s overrated.

Ironically, we did award him the 1985 NL MOTY, though. That was right about the time he probably was gambling on the sport, however, ironically enough. And it’s probable he bet on games as a player, too, always the unforgivable sin in any professional or amateur sport. He has no business being removed from the ineligible list, in all truth. He is a confirmed liar, and we doubt too many people would vote for him now.

Oh, and the revelation he used a corked bat in his old age? He’s a confirmed cheater, too. This conversation is just stupid, silly, and worthless. He had little power and even less speed. He got a bunch of hits, because he played forever. His .303 lifetime batting average is nice, until you consider info like the corked bat. What else is in his skeleton closet? We may never know. But he is unworthy of Cooperstown, now and forever.

Joe Jackson

This case is very different. Remember what we argued recently: the Chicago White Sox should never have been favored in that infamous 1919 World Series. We know Jackson took money from gamblers, but there is no proof or circumstantial evidence that he actually took a dive in the World Series. This is the age-old argument, that Jackson’s cognitive challenges inhibited his ability to understand what was going on there.

The sentiment is behind Jackson, for sure, thanks to films like Eight Men Out and Field of Dreams. Ignorance is not an excuse in the eyes of the law, however, although it does lend itself to leniency on many occasions. We think this will be one of those situations, where Jackson’s legacy is somewhat restored decades after his death. We don’t feel strongly about him one way or another, in truth. He obviously was a very talented man.

Jackson was probably an honest one, too, since he had very straightforward thought processes. That’s more than we can say for Rose, who lied and kept lying until he died, really. Jackson showed genuine contrition for whatever mistakes he was told he made, and that is something we all should respond to in a compassionate, empathetic way. And it’s the difference here between Jackson and Rose. Vote Shoeless Joe!