Judge Rules for Rose Against Giamatti

CINCINNATI--Pete Rose won in court yesterday when a state judge, saying A. Bartlett Giamatti had "prejudged" the case, blocked the baseball commissioner from holding a hearing on evidence that the Cincinnati Reds manager bet on his team.

Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Norbert Nadel's unprecedented ruling prevented Giamatti from holding a hearing today in New York on allegations that could get Rose banned for life from baseball.

Nadel granted a temporary restraining order and said Rose can't be disciplined by major league baseball or fired by the Reds in the next two weeks. On July 6, the judge said he will consider a motion for a preliminary injunction, which would further delay baseball's case while Nadel decides who should determine Rose's fate.

Nadel ruled Giamatti "has prejudged Peter Edward Rose" as guilty, and that a hearing today before the commissioner would be "futile and illusory and the outcome a foregone conclusion."

Nadel, 51, was a low-profile judge who had been thrust into the national spotlight by the case. He was appointed to office and is up for election next year.

"I regret the judge's decision. I have absolutely no prejudgment or prejudice regarding Pete Rose," Giamatti said in a statement. "We will contest this matter tooth and nail."

Rose's lawyers relied on three main arguments: that he was denied a fair investigation; that Giamatti had already decided he is guilty; and that Rose will be permanently damaged by a flawed hearing.

Baseball's lawyers argued that Giamatti had not yet decided the case; that legal precedent was on the commissioner's side; and that Rose was merely trying for a delay through "desperate efforts to avoid facing the merits of this matter."

Rose, on an interview with Reds' radio station WLW before yesterday's game against Los Angeles, said he was "very happy" with the ruling.

"I think they proved [Giamatti] already made up his mind," Rose said. "It just wasn't going to be a fair hearing, in my eyes. It was obvious he believed my accusers."

"I think we got justice," Rose's attorney, Reuven Katz, said.

Louis Hoynes, who presented baseball's case against Rose, disagreed vehemently.

"The judge has made a mistake, a big one," Hoynes said. "It's an erroneous ruling. It's a problem, a serious mistake."

But the gambling-related information that came out of the two-day hearing shocked fans who had embraced Rose as a symbol for baseball. Radio and television carried large segments of the testimony live.

The results were immediate. Commentators called for Rose's resignation. And sports talk shows became forums for stunned fans, who wondered aloud how long Rose could hold on.