MLB Comissioner Rob Manfred removes Pete Rose from ineligible list several months after his death
Pete Rose might finally have a chance to earn his place in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The Cincinnati Reds legend, who passed away last September, has been on Major League Baseball's ineligible list since 1989. This kept his name off of Hall of Fame voting ballots despite several attempts to be removed from the list.
In a historic decision on Tuesday, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announced that Pete Rose, Chicago White Sox legend "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, and several other deceased former players would be removed from the ineligible list. This now means these players will be eligible for Hall of Fame induction.
That being said, there is no guarantee that he will earn his place in Cooperstown, as it will come down to the Hall of Fame voters to decide.
Rose was added to baseball's permanent ineligible list after betting on baseball games when he was the manager of the Cincinnati Reds. Despite holding the record for the most hits ever in MLB history, Rose's name never appeared on a voting ballot. That will presumably change, and his name could be inducted as soon as the summer of 2028.
Over the course of his 24-year MLB career, Rose racked up a record 4,256 hits. The 17-time All-Star and three-time World Series champion was known for his desire to win every game, earning the nickname "Charlie Hustle" in the process.
The Cincinnati Reds icon died in his Las Vegas home on Sept. 30, 2024, from hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. The 83-year-old did not live to see himself removed from the ineligible list.
President Donald Trump had a meeting with Rob Manfred regarding Pete Rose's permanent ban
President Trump and Rob Manfred discussed a number of topics, including how the White House's immigration policies could affect some of the foreign players in Major League Baseball. According to Manfred, the topic of Pete Rose's lifetime ban came up during the meeting.
“I met with President Trump two weeks ago, I guess now, and one of the topics was Pete Rose, but I’m not going beyond that,” Manfred said. “He’s said what he said publicly, I’m not going beyond that in terms of what the back and forth was.”
While he did not provide much detail beyond that, it's clear that pressure was continuing to mount on MLB to lift Rose's ban following his death. A petition was filed by Rose's attorney Jeffrey Lenkov back in January to get the icon's name removed from the ineligible list.