Two of MLB’s biggest pariahs have been reinstated and will become eligible for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in the near future. Pete Rose and “Shoeless” Joe Jackson were among a group of deceased players to be removed from MLB’s permanent ban list.
“Obviously, a person no longer with us cannot represent a threat to the integrity of the game,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred wrote in a letter to attorney Jeffrey M. Lenkov, who was among those leading the charge to get Rose reinstated, via ESPN. “Moreover, it is hard to conceive of a penalty that has more deterrent effect than one that lasts a lifetime with no reprieve.
“Therefore, I have concluded that permanent ineligibility ends upon the passing of the disciplined individual, and Mr. Rose will be removed from the permanently ineligible list.”
Rose, MLB’s all-time hits leader, and Jackson, who holds the fourth-highest batting average in MLB history, received permanent bans from baseball due to gambling and fixing games, respectively. Rose received his lifetime suspension in 1989 from then-MLB commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti after a league investigation found that he had wagered on games during his tenure as Cincinnati Reds manager.
As a result of his ban, Rose was never able to be voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Rose will be eligible to be voted in when the Historical Overview Committee meets in December 2027, the Baseball Hall of Fame announced Tuesday.
Rose long sought reinstatement into MLB before passing away in September 2024. He first applied for reinstatement in September 1997, but Commissioner Bud Selig never ruled on the request, as Rose did not agree to the conditions for lifting the ban: Selig wanted Rose to admit to gambling on baseball, to no longer make appearances in casinos and to stop gambling altogether. Manfred in 2015 rejected a petition for reinstatement, saying “Rose has not presented credible evidence of a reconfigured life.”
A new petition was filed Jan. 8 by Jeffrey Lenkov, a lawyer who represented Rose. Lenkov and Rose’s daughter Fawn had met with Manfred on Dec. 17.
A 17-time All-Star during a playing career from 1963-86, Rose holds the MLB record for hits (4,256), games (3,562), at-bats (14,053), plate appearances (15,890) and singles (3,215). He was the 1963 NL Rookie of the Year, 1973 MVP and 1975 World Series MVP. A three-time NL batting champion, he broke the prior hits record of 4,191 set by Ty Cobb from 1905-28.
Jackson, meanwhile, was among the eight Chicago Black Sox banned for throwing the 1919 World Series. That decision was made by MLB’s first commissioner, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, in 1921.
This is a developing story.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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