Gambling and the Hall of Fame

Factual Questions
1

Firstly, I’m not trying to start a debate about whether or not Pete Rose should be allowed in the Hall of Fame, because, frankly, I don’t really care. But I have a question related to this debate.

The past few days I keep hearing people, such as Tommy Lasorda, say that “if we let Rose in now, we’ll have to let in Shoeless Joe and all those other guys.” <note: not an exact quote but a commonly repeated sentiment>. What I’m wondering is, who are “all these other guys?” Have I missed something and there are a bunch of guys who would otherwise be in the Hall of Fame if they hadn’t bet on baseball? Or is this sentiment referring to other members of the Black Sox that would otherwise be in the Hall?

Anyone have an idea?

2

The eight Black Sox players and 29 other men have been permanently suspended in major league baseball history.

Of the eight Black Sox players, only Joe Jackson is generally considered to have had a Hall of Fame career. Occasionally someone will mention his teammates Buck Weaver and Ed Cicotte as being worthy, but few people agree with them.