PHILADELPHIA — In a sweeping, history-reshaping decision that clears the way for embattled and controversial greats Pete Rose and “Shoeless” Joe Jackson to be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, commissioner Rob Manfred removed their names and others from the permanently ineligible list Tuesday.
Rose and Jackson will be eligible for Hall of Fame consideration in December 2027, according a Hall official.
That means either or both could join Albert Pujols and possibly Yadier Molina in Cooperstown’s Class of 2028.
Addressing what Major League Baseball described as an “unprecedented issue in the modern era,” Manfred clarified the commissioner’s policy on the permanently ineligible list and ruled that a person will be removed from it after his or her death. Manfred explained his reasoning in a letter to Rose’s attorney, Jeffrey M. Lenkov, and that was shared publicly by Major League Baseball on Tuesday.
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“In my view, once an individual has passed away, the purposes of Rule 21 have been served,” Manfred wrote. “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. 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.”
That makes him immediately eligible for Hall consideration, per Hall policy.
The all-time hit king, Rose has never appeared on the writers’ ballot for the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and he has not been eligible for consideration by any of the Veterans’ Committees convened by Cooperstown because of his place on the permanently ineligible list. Rose broke Stan Musial’s National League record for career hits and kept going to set the all-time record at 4,256.
Musial set the NL record with his 3,630th hit past a young second baseman — Rose — and held the record for 17 years until Rose got his 3,631st hit in the NL, which came with Rose playing for the Phillies against the Cardinals in August 1981.
“It’s a great day for baseball as Commissioner Manfred has reinstated Pete Rose, making him eligible for the National Baseball Hall of Fame,” Phillies great and former Rose teammate Mike Schmidt said in a statement shared Tuesday by the Phillies. “The ongoing question of whether Pete Rose should or shouldn’t be in the Hall will be answered by a select panel in the next Classic Baseball Era Committee.”
He was placed on the permanently ineligible list in 1989 as part of a settlement with the commissioner’s office regarding allegations and proof Rose bet on baseball. Rose later admitted that he bet on games, including ones while he was a manager.
Rose died this past September. He was 83.
Jackson is one of the Black Sox accused of conspiring with gamblers and throwing games in the 1919 World Series. Despite being acquitted in a trial, eight members of the Chicago White Sox team were banned by commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis. He used the permanently ineligible list. Jackson famously hit .375 in that series with a .563 slugging percentage, a .956 OPS, 12 hits and six RBIs in the eight-game series.
A career .356 hitter who never took an at-bat after the age of 33 because of the ban, Jackson did appear twice on a Hall of Fame ballot and did not generate much support. His plight has since been romanticized in a novel, “Shoeless Joe” by W. P. Kinsella, and its movie adaptation, “Field of Dreams.”
Rose was the first player since Landis’ tenure to be placed on the permanently ineligible list, according to Major League Baseball.
Manfred’s announcement makes clear that the other seven players banned as a result of the Black Sox scandal have also been removed from that list.
Jane Forbes Clark, who chairs the Hall of Fame board, said in a statement that the Hall “has always maintained that anyone removed from Baseball’s permanently ineligible list will become eligible for Hall of Fame consideration.” She added that the next time players who had their “greatest impact on the game prior to 1980” can be consideration is in December 2027.
The Historical Overview Committee will develop an eight-person ballot that is presented to the Classic Baseball Era Committee. Rose and Jackson could both be on that ballot and with support of 75% or more of the committee receive induction in August 2028.
That is also the first year of eligibility for Pujols and Molina.
The two Cardinals greats retired after the 2022 season, and their names will appear on the writers’ ballot for the first time in December 2027 for induction in 2028.
(The inductions that year are pushed back to August from the usual July date due to the Olympics in Los Angeles.)
Pujols is widely believed to be the next position player to take a run at becoming the first unanimously elected to the Hall of Fame. A three-time MVP who was the dominant offensive force of this generation, Pujols retired with career totals that put him alongside Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron. He is the first Dominican-born member of the 700 club — which he joined in his return to the Cardinals in 2022. Pujols finished his career with 703 home runs and 3,384 hits. Only Aaron has more RBIs than Pujols’ 2,218.
Molina won nine Rawlings Gold Glove Awards during his time as the best defensive catcher of his era. A 10-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion, Molina’s Hall of Fame candidacy is more nuanced than Pujols’ by-the-bulk career numbers, but peers and Hall of Famers alike, including Cincinnati Reds catcher and Rose’s teammate Johnny Bench, have championed Molina’s place in Cooperstown.
Manfred’s ruling applies only to people on the permanently ineligible list who are deceased. The decision does not apply to former Cardinals executive Chris Correa, who remains on the list following his role in the hacking scandal that engulfed the Cardinals and Houston Astros almost a decade ago.
Correa was placed on the list for not cooperating with MLB’s investigation.
Major League Baseball confirmed that 17 individuals disciplined during their lifetimes have been removed: Jackson and seven other Black Sox — Eddie Cicotte, Happy Felsch, Chick Gandil, Fred McMullin, Swede Risberg, Buck Weaver and Lefty Williams; Joe Gedeon, Gene Paulette; Benny Kauff; Lee Magee; Phil Douglas; Cozy Dolan; Jimmy O’Connell; William Cox and Rose.
“On behalf of the Reds and our generations of loyal fans, we are thankful for the decision of Commissioner Manfred and Major League Baseball regarding the removal of Pete Rose from the permanently ineligible list,” Reds owner Bob Castellini said in a statement from the team. “Pete is one of the greatest players in baseball history, and Reds Country will continue to celebrate him as we always have.”
In today’s 10 AM “Ten Hochman” video, Ben Hochman discusses Lars Nootbaar, a key player during the Cardinals’ nine-game winning streak! Plus a happy birthday shoutout to Willson Contreras! And as always, Hochman picks a random Cards card out of the hat!
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