Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred is reviewing a petition by the family of the late Pete Rose to reinstate the all-time hits leader, ESPN reports. If reinstated, Rose, who died in September of last year at the age of 83, would presumably become eligible for election into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Rose agreed to be placed on the permanently ineligible list in 1989, and two years later the Hall of Fame passed a rule stating that those on the permanently ineligible list were not eligible for election into the Hall. As such, Rose has never appeared on a Hall of Fame ballot.
Rose’s placement on the list was the result of his alleged betting on baseball — allegations Rose finally admitted to in his 2004 autobiography, albeit after years of denials. Rose has appealed for reinstatement multiple times but has been denied each time, including by Manfred in 2015. Rose’s placement on the list was in keeping with the punishments laid out in the text of Rule 21(d), which has for decades been posted in every major-league clubhouse.
Of the latest effort to end Rose’s banishment, Don Van Natta Jr. writes:
“Jeffrey Lenkov, a Los Angeles lawyer who represented Rose prior to his death at age 83 in late September, said he filed the reinstatement petition after he and Fawn Rose, the oldest daughter of Pete Rose, met with Manfred and MLB spokesman Pat Courtney in the commissioner’s office on Dec. 17.”
The ESPN report goes on to add that Manfred in the recent past “viewed baseball’s banned list as punishing players during their lifetime but ending upon their death.”
News of the petition on Rose’s behalf comes not long after United States President Donald Trump posted on social media that he intended to “pardon” Rose while advocating for his reinstatement to MLB and election to the Hall of Fame.
As a player, Rose spent parts of 24 seasons in the majors, 19 of which came with his hometown Cincinnati Reds. Over that span, Rose amassed an MLB record 4,256 hits.
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