THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: 'Til death do us part — or get into the Hall? Not so fast

This is a tough one. 

Pete Rose is now eligible to be voted into the Hall of Fame. 

So are a few others from long ago, including Shoeless Joe Jackson and his teammates with the infamous Chicago “Black Sox,” who tanked the 1919 World Series. 

There was some confusion when commissioner Rob Manfred made the decision that Rose, Jackson and the rest had fulfilled the major condition for forgiveness. 

They died. 

Seriously. 

Rose once made a dramatic pleading gesture to a banquet audience: “What the hell can I do to get back into baseball?” 

Now we know. 

Once Pete died last September, the door didn’t quite open, but it became ajar. 

Manfred actually spelled out what now seems to be a policy of MLB itself. 

If you’re dead, you’ve served your time and your debt to society has been paid. 

You obviously never give an emotional speech at Cooperstown, but a plaque is still possible. 

A lot of fans, at least several of the folks who sent me emails, seem to believe that Manfred’s imitation of Judge Judy automatically puts Rose into the Hall. 

NOT SO. 

Tickets to Cooperstown, to put a gentle smile on it, are handled almost exclusively by longtime members of the Baseball Writers Association of America. 

No particular statistical achievement means entry to the Hall, either. 

The fact that Rose rapped out more hits than anyone in the history of the game makes him a topic of conversation for voters. 

No more than that. 

Ditto for Barry Bonds, poster child for the steroid era, who holds every home run record that matters. 

The baseball writers wrestled with the Bonds issue for each of his 10 years of eligibility, and he got closer each year — but remained still short of the 75 percent needed to crash the Hall. 

There are other methods, and committees who consider possible induction after that first 15 years (five after official retirement and that 10 on the ballot). 

That’s where the Hall fate of Rose, Bonds and others will sit now. 

If you’re wondering how a majority of fans feel about this Cooperstown business, and what some of the greatest players did to keep themselves out, I suggest a survey done by The Athletic — the popular and influential web site and newsletter dedicated solely to sports. 

The Athletic tossed out the question of Rose and the Hall this Wednesday. 

Voting was as close as you’d guess: 46.6 percent of fans (or morality advocates) were behind Rose’s ultimate induction, but 53.4 percent said no. 

YOU CAN make a case on either side. 

The part of it that bothers me is the idea of baseball writers judging the character of fellow human beings. 

Rose was a crude bully who wound up in jail on tax charges, but his sin regarding baseball was betting on games. 

There is no proof that Pete ever bet against the Reds while he was the manager. 

End of story. 

Bonds was (and perhaps remains) a surly individual who alienated the media, which probably cost him the votes he needed. 

I’m sorry, that’s childish stuff. 

Bonds had a Hall of Fame career before he ever touched the PEDs, and when he did, it came at a time when both hitters and pitchers were loading up.  

The obvious argument (“He’s a jerk!) makes a joke out of the whole process. 

Look, I have a suggestion on how to untangle this thing. 

I’m not the first pundit to offer this, but it’s definitely worth offering up again. 

If a retired player is an obvious candidate for the Hall of Fame based solely on his baseball accomplishments, put him in. 

In cases like Rose, Bonds (and yes, Shoeless Joe Jackson), simply note that negative stuff on their plaques. 

There. 

Everyone gets a say.

The Hall doesn’t burn to the ground. 

Job done. 

Email: [email protected]

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press three times each week, normally Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”