MLB reinstates Pete Rose and others, paving way for Hall of Fame consideration

Pete Rose and “Shoeless” Joe Jackson are no longer official baseball pariahs. In a seismic decision that will alter the legacies of more than a dozen disgraced baseball heroes, Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred announced Tuesday that players punished with permanent ineligibility will be reinstated after their deaths. Players on MLB’s permanently ineligible list are banned from entry into the Baseball Hall of Fame, but Rose, baseball’s all-time hits leader who died last year at 83, will now be eligible for inclusion for the first time.

“In my view, a determination must be made regarding how the phrase ‘permanently ineligible’ should be interpreted in light of the purposes and policies behind Rule 21, which are to: (1) protect the game from individuals who pose a risk to the integrity of the sport by prohibiting the participation of such individuals; and (2) create a deterrent effect that reduces the likelihood of future violations by others,” Manfred wrote in a letter to the Rose family’s attorney, which was released by MLB.

“In my view, once an individual has passed away, the purposes of Rule 21 have been served. Obviously, a person no longer with us cannot represent a threat to the integrity of the game. Moreover, it is hard to conceive of a penalty that has more deterrent effect than one that lasts a lifetime with no reprieve.”

Following Manfred’s announcement, the National Baseball Hall of Fame released a statement saying players removed from the permanently ineligible list will become eligible for Hall of Fame consideration via a vote by the Classic Baseball Era Committee, which will vote on its next class of candidates in December 2027.

“The National Baseball Hall of Fame has always maintained that anyone removed from Baseball’s permanently ineligible list will become eligible for Hall of Fame consideration,” read the statement from Jane Forbes Clark, the Hall of Fame’s board chair. “Major League Baseball’s decision to remove deceased individuals from the permanently ineligible list will allow for the Hall of Fame candidacy of such individuals to now be considered.”

Rose was banned from baseball in 1989 as part of a settlement engineered by then-commissioner Bart Giamatti after an investigation into whether Rose bet on baseball while he was managing the Cincinnati Reds. Rose agreed to the ban in exchange for baseball not offering a formal verdict on whether he bet on the sport. He later admitted he had, though he denied betting on his own team.

Manfred’s decision will be scrutinized for its timing: It comes after Manfred met with President Donald Trump at the White House last month for a conversation people familiar with the discussion said included Rose’s fate. Trump has posted in defense of Rose on social media and has argued for his reinstatement.