In a new autobiography, My Prison Without Bars, Pete Rose admits for the first time that he bet on baseball games. He hopes to end his lifetime ban from baseball and be admitted into the Hall of Fame.

Rose says he was a big-time gambler who started betting regularly on baseball in 1987 but never against the Reds, according to excerpts from the book released to Sports Illustrated for its issue that hits newsstands Wednesday.

"Yes, sir, I did bet on baseball," Rose told commissioner Bud Selig during a meeting in November 2002 about Rose's lifetime ban.

"How often?" Selig asked.

"Four or five times a week," Rose replied. "But I never bet against my own team, and I never made any bets from the clubhouse."

"Why?" Selig asked.

"I didn't think I'd get caught."

Rose repeated his admission in an interview on ABC News' "Primetime Thursday," parts of which aired Monday on "Good Morning America."

We give him credit for the honest answer. We sat in the row behind him a few months ago on a plane somewhere (he was in bulkhead and we were in row 2.) There was a steady stream of passengers coming up to him. He was polite to all of them. He wears a lot of gold jewelry. A lot. And he's a very beefy guy.

So will the book do it for him and will he get back in?