Pete Rose among players reinstated by MLB commissioner Rob Manfred
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Dave ClarkCincinnati Enquirer
Cincinnati Reds legend and MLB hit king Pete Rose is among deceased players removed Tuesday by commissioner Rob Manfred from its permanently ineligible list.
In late April, Manfred said he discussed Rose with President Donald Trump at a meeting earlier in April and planned to rule on a request to end a permanent ban of Rose, who died last September.
The Reds are honoring Rose with a Pete Rose Night on May 14.
Manfred issued a policy decision regarding the status of individuals who have passed away while on the permanently ineligible list, per MLB.com. This issue has never been formally addressed by Major League Baseball, but an application filed by Rose's family has made it incumbent upon the Office of the Commissioner to reach a policy decision on this unprecedented issue in the modern era as Mr. Rose is the first person banned after the tenure of Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis to die while still on the ineligible list. Commissioner Manfred has concluded that MLB's policy shall be that permanent ineligibility ends upon the passing of the disciplined individual.
In a letter to Jeffrey M. Lenkov, the attorney for Mr. Rose, Commissioner Manfred wrote, "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. 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. 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."
Commissioner Manfred further wrote, "While it is my preference not to disturb decisions made by prior Commissioners, Mr. Rose was not placed on the permanently ineligible list by Commissioner action but rather as the result of a 1989 settlement of potential litigation with the Commissioner's Office. My decision today is consistent with Commissioner Giamatti's expectations of that agreement.
"Commissioner Giamatti's comments were completely reasonable given that, at the time, the Hall of Fame did not have a rule barring people on the permanently ineligible list from Hall of Fame consideration. In fact, Shoeless Joe Jackson was afforded the opportunity to be voted upon in 1936 and again in 1946."
To establish clarity for the administration of the Major League Rules, the decision in this matter shall apply to individuals in the past or future who are posthumously on the permanently ineligible list. There are 17 deceased individuals disciplined since the founding of the Commissioner's Office impacted by today's announcement, including Eddie Cicotte, Happy Felsch, Chick Gandil, Joe Jackson, 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 Pete Rose.
The Enquirer's Gordon Wittenmyer wrote in March that it'll take years for Rose to be inducted to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, even if Manfred lifts the ban.
The Reds are wearing a Pete Rose "14" jersey patch this season.
"When it comes to Pete, you guys are well aware how I feel about him," Reds manager Terry Francona said in March, per Wittenmyer. "And anybody who played with him I'm guessing would say the same thing. He's about the best teammate you could ever find."
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It will be interesting to see how the sports writers react. Will they put Rose, Jackson, or anyone else in the Hall of Fame?
I wonder. To my mind, the voters tend to be sanctimonious purists, so I’m skeptical. On the other hand, there has been a lot of popular support for these guys.
I gave up on MLB. It's Little League or Bananaball.
Good thing its not too late. Oh wait...
One guy threw a world series and the other bet on games he managed. No place in the Hall for either.
Did he though? Joe Jackson hit .375 in the Series. That was the highest average among regular players for either team. He hit the only home run in the Series (the Reds had no homers). He led his team with 6 RBIs. He committed zero errors. He did take money, but what is the evidence that he threw the Series?
Then don’t put him in as a manager. No one wants to, anyway. He 100% deserves to go in as a player.
That's enough right there, isn't it? He's destroyed the integrity of the game once he takes the money and promises to lose.
“ but what is the evidence that he threw the Series?.”
As a wise man once said, don't tell me what you hit, tell me when you hit it. While it's impossible to get inside his head and prove what his intent was every at bat he took or chance he had in the field, it's clear he didn't hit well when the games were close and performed better once the "fix was off."
hen don’t put him in as a manager
Can't separate the two.
Ball players in those days didn’t make much money. It’s not that weird that he took money and then went ahead and did his usual thing on the field. In fact, his Series batting average was higher than his season average.
He drove in more runs than anyone else on his team.
They do separate the two. All the time.
Pete Rose was one of my favorite players back when I followed baseball closely