{"id":25028,"date":"2025-05-14T01:07:14","date_gmt":"2025-05-14T01:07:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/25028\/"},"modified":"2025-05-14T01:07:14","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T01:07:14","slug":"pete-rose-saga-will-likely-end-with-the-hall-of-fame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/25028\/","title":{"rendered":"Pete Rose saga will likely end with the Hall of Fame"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pete Rose owes his eternal gratitude to President Donald Trump, Commissioner Rob Manfred and the Baseball Hall of Fame for getting him into Cooperstown in 2028, assuming he\u2019s rubber stamped by the 16-member Classic Baseball Era Committee when he\u2019s placed on the ballot in two years.<\/p>\n

Since he\u2019s no longer living, we\u2019ll have to assume he\u2019s not at all grateful, based on a lifetime of playing victim.<\/p>\n

MLB announced Tuesday that Rose and 16 others would be removed from its permanently ineligible list<\/a>, saying the lifetime ban had served its purpose and was no longer deemed necessary. \u201cShoeless Joe\u201d Jackson and seven other members of the Black Sox team that accepted bribes to throw the 1919 World Series were also reinstated.<\/p>\n

Rose\u2019s reinstatement meant he\u2019ll likely be elected posthumously, while Jackson might still be on the outside looking in if the voting committee believes his alleged crime<\/a> was a mortal sin and Rose\u2019s betting on baseball was a venial sin.<\/p>\n

The White Sox didn\u2019t even support Jackson<\/a> wholeheartedly, releasing a statement on the decision that read, \u201cThe White Sox trust that the process currently in place will thoughtfully evaluate each player\u2019s contribution to the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Say it ain\u2019t so, Jerry.<\/p>\n

Many fans across baseball cheered Rose\u2019s reinstatement. He somehow turned into a sympathetic character from the day of his exile on Aug. 24, 1989, to the day he died last year<\/a>, despite admitting he had lied for years about his gambling.<\/p>\n

The Hall of Fame, many argue, is already full of bad actors, cheaters and racists. Rose was a manager who gambled. And with legalized gambling sites now a huge revenue stream for MLB and many of its teams, the Rose ban seemed hypocritical to some. Factor in Manfred\u2019s decision not to penalize any of the Houston Astros players from their sign-stealing scandal, which arguably was worse than betting on baseball since the cheating led to a 2017 World Series championship, and you have multiple reasons to forgive Rose.<\/p>\n

\"PetePete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds slides head first as he races the ball to third base at Shea Stadium in New Yorkon Aug. 13, 1976. New York Mets third baseman Roy Staiger awaits the throw. (AP Photo\/Ray Stubblebine)<\/p>\n

Removing \u201cShoeless Joe\u201d and his cohorts from the banned list was a Solomon-esque decision by Manfred. It assured this was not all about Rose, even as the all-time hit king was obviously the main reason behind the altered interpretation that the ban now ends upon the individual\u2019s passing.<\/p>\n

Trump also gets a big assist after saying in February he would personally pardon Rose<\/a>, though he wouldn\u2019t say what the pardon would be for.<\/p>\n

\u201cBaseball, which is dying all over the place, should get off its fat, lazy ass, and elect Pete Rose, even though far too late, into the Baseball Hall of Fame!\u201d Trump wrote on social media.<\/p>\n

Manfred listened. Now the Hall of Fame feels like a done deal, barring a Classic Baseball Era Committee vote that would leave Rose with fewer than 12 votes among the 16 members.<\/p>\n

The Hall said the Historical Overview Committee would consider Rose for the December 2027 ballot, so obviously, he will be on it. If he\u2019s eligible, he deserves that much.<\/p>\n

That also means the Baseball Writers\u2019 Association of America members who would\u2019ve voted on Rose\u2019s candidacy had he been on the annual ballot were bypassed for a special committee made up of Hall of Famers, executives, owners, historians and media members. The committee most recently elected Dick Allen<\/a> and Dave Parker last December for the Hall Class of 2025.<\/p>\n

Rose probably would\u2019ve been elected by the BBWAA anyway, but who knows? The BBWAA kept out Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez and other performance-enhancing drug suspects. Maybe they would\u2019ve done likewise with Rose, who would\u2019ve gotten 10 years on the BBWAA ballot. At the very least, it would\u2019ve been an interesting debate.<\/p>\n

But now it\u2019s just a fait accompli.<\/p>\n

\"FILECincinnati Reds\u2019 Pete Rose rounds first base after hitting a single to break Ty Cobb\u2019s hitting record during a baseball game at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati on Sept. 11, 1985. (AP Photo\/File)<\/p>\n

Manfred and the Baseball Hall of Fame wouldn\u2019t go to such lengths to finally get Rose on a ballot and then risk seeing him voted down. The votes by the 16-member committee are anonymous, while the majority of BBWAA members choose to reveal their Hall of Fame votes.<\/p>\n

Either way, it\u2019s a long way from the day in 1989 when Rose accepted a lifetime ban from then-Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe matter of Mr. Rose is now closed,\u201d Giamatti said. \u201cIt will be debated and discussed. Let no one think that it did not hurt baseball. That hurt will pass, however, as the great glory of the game asserts itself and a resilient institution goes forward. Let it also be clear that no individual is superior to the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Well, almost no one, it turns out.<\/p>\n

Rose clearly was one of the greatest hitters of all time and would\u2019ve been a first-ballot Hall of Famer if not for betting on baseball. But no betting on baseball was the cardinal rule, and Rose knew it. He just couldn\u2019t accept his punishment because he thought he was above the game.<\/p>\n

In the Rose biography, \u201cCharlie Hustle: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball,\u201d author Keith O\u2019Brien wrote Rose said in 2021 that the banishment by MLB cost him around $100 million in endorsements since 1990. Rose reasoned that he had apologized for his actions and didn\u2019t hurt anyone.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hurt me, I hurt my family,\u201d Rose said. \u201cAnd for guys to say \u2018He hasn\u2019t been punished enough,\u2019 well, what\u2019s enough? Thirty-one years and $100 million? That\u2019s not enough? Come on. The guy who shot the pope got out \u2026 I (f\u2212\u2212\u2212\u2212\u2212d) up. I know. But enough is enough. What do they want? To cut my (f\u2212\u2212\u2212\u2212\u2212g) arm off?\u201d<\/p>\n

The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, by the way, is a private, nonprofit educational institution in Cooperstown, N.Y. A museum can make its own rules, which the Hall did when it decided no one on MLB\u2019s permanently banned list was eligible. It was even dubbed the \u201cPete Rose rule.\u201d They certainly could\u2019ve let Rose be elected by the BBWAA and then listed his MLB ban on his plaque, sparing us from the longest-running argument in baseball history.<\/p>\n

But now the Rose saga is almost over.<\/p>\n

Trump pressured Manfred. Manfred caved. And here we are.<\/p>\n

Everyone will make money \u2014 the Rose family, the Cincinnati Reds, the Hall of Fame and the thousands of memorabilia seekers who got Rose to sign a baseball during his exile and can cash in while he\u2019s hot.<\/p>\n

As a thanks to Trump, maybe the Hall can have Rose wear a MAGA hat on his Hall of Fame plaque with an inscription inspired by Trump\u2019s tweet: \u201cPete Rose. \u2018Charlie Hustle.\u2019 All-time MLB hits leader. Banned by MLB from 1989-2025 for gambling on baseball, until baseball, which was dying all over the place, got off its fat lazy ass and elected him into the Baseball Hall of Fame.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pete Rose owes his eternal gratitude to President Donald Trump, Commissioner Rob Manfred and the Baseball Hall of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25029,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2400],"tags":[5,1708,10487,535,50,4259,1220,4,1219,536,10486,10346],"class_list":{"0":"post-25028","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cincinnati-reds","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-baseball-hall-of-fame","10":"tag-black-sox","11":"tag-cincinnati","12":"tag-cincinnati-reds","13":"tag-cincinnatireds","14":"tag-donald-trump","15":"tag-mlb","16":"tag-pete-rose","17":"tag-reds","18":"tag-ron-manfred","19":"tag-shoeless-joe-jackson"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/114503512812654999","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25028","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25028"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25028\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}