[Stardust]

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. - Pete Rose, who received a lifetime ban 20 years ago for betting on baseball, deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, former home-run king Hank Aaron said.

"I would certainly like to see him in," Aaron said. "He belongs in, really. His career is one that he needs to be right here in the middle of all of this."


Rose, in Cooperstown signing autographs over the weekend but not in attendance at the Hall of Fame ceremony for Rickey Henderson, Jim Rice and veterans committee selection Joe Gordon, admitted in 2002 to Commissioner Bud Selig that he bet on baseball. Selig said Rose's case still is under review.


"The Pete Rose thing is different than steroids," Aaron said. "If I had been Pete, I think I would have asked for forgiveness many, many years ago."

The New York Daily News, also citing Aaron's support for Rose, reports that Selig is "seriously considering'' reinstating Rose.

The Daily News said that at a meeting of the Hall of Fame's board of directors Saturday, Joe Morgan and Frank Robinson, former Rose teammates, also said they'd like to see Selig reinstate Rose.