MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred is reportedly contemplating eradicating Pete Rose from the league’s banned checklist, months after the sport’s all-time hits chief died on the age of 83.
Rose’s household filed a petition with MLB on Jan. 8 to take away him from the checklist, ESPN reported Saturday. The baseball legend’s lawyer, Jeffrey Lenkov, informed the outlet the petition was filed after Rose’s daughter met with Manfred and league spokesman Pat Courtney on Dec. 17.
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Pete Rose throughout a Reds sport as participant/supervisor in 1989. (USA At present Sports activities)
Manfred beforehand rejected Rose’s bid in December 2015 after the 2 met. Lenkov described the assembly with MLB brass as “productive” and stated that Manfred had been “respectful” and gracious” in hearing the case.
“It’s now time to show the web page on Pete Rose’s legacy in baseball and for the Corridor of Fame to honor him. Whether or not you’re a fan or not of Pete Rose, we’re at our greatest a nation of second possibilities, a nation of giving folks second alternatives,” Lenkov told ESPN. “We do not write off folks.”
President Donald Trump wrote in a post on social media on Friday that he planned to posthumously pardon Rose.
“Main League Baseball didn’t have the braveness or decency to place the late, nice, Pete Rose, also called ‘Charlie Hustle,’ into the Baseball Corridor of fame. Now he’s useless, won’t ever expertise the fun of being chosen, although he was a FAR BETTER PLAYER than most of those that made it, and may solely be named posthumously. WHAT A SHAME!” he wrote on Reality Social.
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Commissioner of Major League Baseball Robert D. Manfred Jr. speaks during the 2024 Grapefruit League Spring Training Media Day at George M. Steinbrenner Field on Thursday, February 15, 2024, in Tampa, Florida. (Mike Carlson/MLB Photos via Getty Images.)
“Anyway, over the subsequent few weeks I might be signing an entire PARDON of Pete Rose, who shouldn’t have been playing on baseball, however solely wager on HIS TEAM WINNING. He by no means betted towards himself, or the opposite workforce. He had essentially the most hits, by far, in baseball historical past, and received extra video games than anybody in sports activities historical past. Baseball, which is dying everywhere, ought to get off its fats, lazy a–, and elect Pete Rose, although far too late, into the Baseball Corridor of Fame!”
Rose broke out with his hometown Cincinnati Reds, the team he played 19 of his 24 seasons with, three of which he also served as acting manager, in 1963, and he went on to make league history, while securing three World Series titles along the way.
Nicknamed “Charlie Hustle” for his relentless drive when on the diamond, Rose was league MVP in 1973, a 17-time All-Star, three-time batting title winner, Rookie of the Year and World Series MVP.
Despite his 4,256 career hits, he became a polarizing figure when the news of his gambling on baseball rocked the sports world.
Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds in action at the bat against the Atlanta Braves in Atlanta, Aug. 2, 1978. At left is Atlanta catcher Joe Nolan. (AP Photo, File)
Rose applied for reinstatement in 2020 and 2022, especially with legalized sports betting happening across the country. However, Manfred denied both requests, pointing to the Veteran’s Committee for any Hall of Fame discussions regarding Rose. Manfred also shot down any speculation about Rose’s reinstatement in 2023, as the league had partnerships with sportsbooks.
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Although he isn’t in the Baseball Hall of Fame, the Reds inducted Rose into their own hall of fame in 2016, retiring his No. 14. He made several appearances in MLB ballparks in recent years before his death.
Fox News’ Ryan Morik contributed to this report.
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