On Friday, United States President Donald Trump said he would pardon Pete Rose and criticized Major League Baseball for banning the sport’s all-time hits leader for gambling on baseball. Rose, who died at age 83 in October, has been on the permanently ineligible list since 1989 when he agreed to the punishment. At the time, Rose was only alleged to have gambled on baseball games. He later admitted to gambling on baseball.
“Over the next few weeks I will be signing a complete pardon of Pete Rose, who shouldn’t have been gambling on baseball, but only bet on his team winning,” Trump wrote on social media. “He never betted against himself, or the other team. He had the most hits, by far, in baseball history, and won more games than anyone in sports history.”
It is unclear what a pardon would cover because Rose has not been convicted of a crime. He served five years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of filing false income tax returns in 1990. In 2017, the Philadelphia Phillies canceled a ceremony to induct Rose into their Wall of Fame after it was revealed Rose had a sexual relationship with an underage woman in the 1970s.
John Dowd, who investigated Rose for MLB in 1989 and served as Trump’s legal advisor from June 2017 to March 2018, said MLB is “not in the pardon business nor does it control admission to the HOF,” in a statement to ESPN.
MLB has not yet commented on Trump saying he will issue a “complete pardon” of Rose.
Under a rule adopted in 1991, anyone on the permanently ineligible list can not be considered for election to the Hall of Fame. Major League Baseball itself does not control who goes into the Hall of Fame. Members of the Baseball Writers Association of America vote for candidates, then various committees vote on candidates who exhaust their eligibility on the BBWAA’s ballot.
Rose played 24 MLB seasons for the Cincinnati Reds, Phillies, and Montreal Expos from 1963-86. He also served as Reds player-manager from 1984-86 and manager from 1987-89. During this period he bet on his team to win. Rose first applied for reinstatement in 1997 and reapplied multiple times over the years.
Rose is baseball’s all-time leader in games played (3,562), plate appearances (15,890), and hits (4,256). The Reds will wear a No. 14 patch on their uniforms in his honor in 2025.
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