Pete Rose might finally make it to Cooperstown – even if he’s not around to see it happen.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred is looking at a request from Rose’s family to lift the lifetime ban that’s kept baseball’s all-time hits leader out of the Hall of Fame. Rose passed away last September at 83.
The ban has been a cloud over baseball for more than three decades. Rose accepted it in 1989 after allegations he bet on baseball games – something he denied for years before finally coming clean in his 2004 book.
It’s been a really tough road since then. The Hall of Fame changed its rules in 1991 to keep anyone on baseball’s permanently ineligible list from being considered. Rose has tried multiple times to get reinstated, but no luck.
His daughter Fawn and lawyer Jeffrey Lenkov met with Manfred in December to make their case. They might have perfect timing – ESPN reports that Manfred has recently suggested baseball’s banned list shouldn’t extend beyond a player’s lifetime.
The numbers are pretty incredible when you look at them. Rose racked up 4,256 hits over 24 seasons in the majors. Most of those came with his hometown Cincinnati Reds, where he played for 19 years.
Former President Donald Trump recently jumped into the debate, posting that he wanted to "pardon" Rose and get him into the Hall.
The betting rule that got Rose banned – Rule 21(d) – still hangs in every Major League clubhouse as a reminder of what’s at stake. But now, years after his death, baseball might finally be ready to turn the page on one of its most controversial chapters.
For Rose’s family and many fans, it would be a long-awaited recognition of his achievements on the field, even if it comes too late for Charlie Hustle himself to enjoy it.
