MLB reportedly considering bid to reinstate Pete Rose
(Mandatory Credit: VJ Lovero/SI/Icon SMI)
Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred is considering a petition that would posthumously remove the all-time hits leader Pete Rose from baseball’s ineligible list, according to a report from ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr over the weekend.
The petition was filed back on Jan. 8, a few weeks after a Dec. 17 meeting between Rose’s oldest daughter Fawn, his former lawyer Jeffrey Lenkov, Manfred and an MLB spokesperson. Lenkov told ESPN that the petition was filed so that Rose could “seek induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.”
Rose never appeared on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot. He was banned from the sport in 1989 after an investigation found that Rose placed numerous bets on the Cincinnati Reds as a player and manager from 1985-87. In 1991, the Hall implemented a new rule that barred anyone on baseball’s ineligible list from appearing on the ballot.
Rose tried numerous times for reinstatement throughout his lifetime, with the last formal bid coming in 2022. He passed away on Sept. 30, 2024 at the age of 83.
The prevalence of legalized sports betting — and the league’s lucrative partnerships with the major sportsbooks — have led to an outpouring of support for Rose’s reinstatement in recent years. The topic is in the news again after President Donald Trump said on Truth Social that he would pardon Rose.
Gambling isn’t the only stain on Rose’s legacy. In 2017, court documents revealed that Rose admitted to having a sexual relationship with a teenage girl in the 1970s. Rose, who was playing for the Reds at the time, believed that the girl was 16, the age of consent in Ohio. The girl, identified as “Jane Doe,” told attorneys that the relationship began when she was younger, so the allegations fall under statutory rape.
The Phillies cancelled Rose’s scheduled Wall of Fame induction ceremony in 2017 after the allegations were made public. Rose, who played for the Phillies from 1979-83, was invited to Citizens Bank Park in 2022 as part of a celebration of the 1980 World Series champions. He dismissed questions from a reporter about the statutory rape allegations during his media availability.
If Rose is reinstated, it could take a few years for him to earn election into the Hall of Fame. As Ken Rosenthal and Steve Berman of The Athletic pointed out, the earliest Rose could get into the Hall is 2028. That’s because Rose’s candidacy would likely be decided by the Classic Era Baseball Committee. The group is scheduled to convene again during the Winter Meetings in 2027 to consider candidates for the Class of 2028.
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A Rose in the Hall.....As soon as possible!!!
The Pro Football HOF still enshrined two players who admitted to betting on games in which they were PLAYING!They have also allowed to remain on the premises a player who has been found at fault for the deaths of two people at his hands.
Better take a deeper breath than lungs allow if you are waiting for Pete to get in soon. This tease is going to go on for quite a while. It figures to be an annual click bait. Pete will get in at a point in time when a few years pass beyond a time when anyone who was privileged to watch Pete play have passed. Just an opinion, but we're talking 2045ish. It's easy to say Pete belongs in for the player he was. It's easier to dismiss the lingering bitterness enough people have for Pete's many self centered sins. Through it all, Pete anchored 1980 and that's Hall of Fame worthy to those of us that followed that wonderful year