PHILADELPHIA – After 14 years of denial, Pete Rose is apparently about to admit that he bet on baseball.

A person privy to some of the contents of Rose’s new book, “My Prison Without Bars,” which will be released Thursday, says that Rose confesses in the book to having gambled on baseball.

The source, who has been briefed on the book, asked not to be identified.

Cathy Gruhn, a publicist for Rodale Press, declined to comment on the contents of the book on Friday. Rodale has imposed a strict pre-publication embargo on the book.

Rose, baseball’s all-time hits leader, was banned from the sport for life in August 1989, which led to his banishment from Hall of Fame eligibility in 1991. He was suspended by then-commissioner Bart Giamatti after being investigated for gambling during his time as Cincinnati Reds manager.

As part of an agreement between Giamatti and Rose, who played on the Phillies’ 1980 World Series championship team, baseball never formally concluded that Rose was guilty of gambling on the sport. However, Giamatti stated that he personally believed that Rose had bet on it.

Giamatti based his opinion on the findings of independent investigator John Dowd, who detailed 412 baseball wagers that he said were made by Rose between April 8 and July 5, 1987, when Rose managed the Reds. Fifty-two of those bets were on the Reds to win, according to the Dowd report.

“If the reports are true that Pete Rose is about to admit he bet on baseball, then John Dowd should be the hero of the week in baseball,” said Fay Vincent, who succeeded Giamatti as commissioner after Giamatti died in September 1989. “John Dowd endured 14 years’ worth of insults from Pete Rose. Somebody ought to thank him for doing a terrific job.”

Rose applied to current commissioner Bud Selig for reinstatement in 1997. Selig began reviewing the appeal in earnest after a November 2002 meeting with Rose. The New York Times, citing a source in major-league baseball, recently reported that Rose had admitted to betting on baseball at that meeting.

It is widely believed that Selig made a public confession of guilt one of the conditions for Rose’s possible reinstatement. It is also believed that Selig wanted a public apology. It is unclear whether Rose’s new book includes an apology, although some reports have suggested that it does not.

Selig declined to comment on the matter, repeating earlier remarks in which he said that Rose has the right to appeal his lifetime ban and that he, the commissioner, is reviewing the case.

However, you can bet that Selig will pay close attention to what Rose says in his new book. Sources close to Selig say that he has not made up his mind about Rose and that any missteps in the book could be costly to Rose.

Following Rose’s lifetime ban, he became ineligible for Hall of Fame consideration. The timing of the release of his book is interesting because it will come two days after the Hall of Fame class of 2004 is announced.

A former player has a 20-year period after his retirement in which he can be elected to the Hall, so the clock on Rose’s potential eligibility is ticking. If Rose is reinstated, his final year of eligibility on the writers’ ballot would be when the class of 2006 is chosen in December 2005.

A spring release had been planned for Rose’s book, but demand resulted in the publication date’s being pushed up. Rodale has ordered a huge first printing of 500,000 copies, with the books listed at $24.95 apiece.

Clearly, the Emmaus, Pa.-based publishing company was expecting a big splash, and according to the source who has been briefed on the book, Rose has delivered.

Rose has already begun promoting the book. He has done an interview for ABC’s “Primetime Thursday that will be aired Thursday night, after he conducts a series of interviews in New York. He is scheduled to appear in Philadelphia on Jan. 20 at the Barnes & Noble bookstore on Rittenhouse Square.

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ARCHIVE PHOTO on KRT Direct (from KRT Photo Service, 202-383-6099): Pete Rose

ARCHIVE CARICATURE on KRT Direct (from KRT Faces in the News Library, 202-383-6064): Pete Rose

AP-NY-01-02-04 2107EST