OAN Staff James Meyers
3:30 PM – Wednesday, May 14, 2025
Considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time, Pete Rose was finally removed from Major League Baseball’s (MLB) permanently ineligible list — making him eligible for the MLB Hall of Fame for the first time-ever.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announced on Tuesday that the ban on the player’s eligibility will be lifted posthumously.
The commissioner’s decision comes after an application for reinstatement was filed by Rose’s family after the Cincinnati Reds great died on September 30, 2024, at 83-years-old.
In 1989, Rose was put on the permanently ineligible list by then-Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti for betting on Major League games.
“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 principal owner Bob Castellini said in a statement. “Pete is one of the greatest players in baseball history, and Reds Country will continue to celebrate him as we always have. We are especially happy for the Rose family to receive this news and what this decision could mean for them and all of Pete’s fans.”
Rose was not the only player to be eligible for the Hall of Fame due to the new ruling. The full list includes 16 others: Eddie Cicotte, Happy Felsch, Chick Gandil, ”Shoeless” Joe Jackson, Fred McMullin, Swede Risberg, Buck Weaver, Lefty Williams, Joe Gedeon, Gene Paulette, Benny Kauff, Lee Magee, Phil Douglas, Cozy Dolan, Jimmy O’Connell and William Cox.
“In my view, once an individual has passed away, the purposes of Rule 21 have been served,” Manfred wrote, referring to the rule that bans betting on baseball by the league. “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.”
Manfred added: “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.”
Former MLB Commissioner Emeritus Allan H. (Bud) Selig applauded Manfred’s decision.
“I understand and respect Commissioner Rob Manfred’s decision regarding the removal of Pete Rose and 16 other deceased individuals from the ineligible list,” Selig said in a statement. “Given my affection for my friend, the late Bart Giamatti, MLB’s seventh Commissioner who disciplined Mr. Rose for gambling on his own team all those years ago, I believe Bart would understand and respect the decision as well.”
After several years of claiming his innocence, Rose admitted to gambling in 2004. Just 10 days before his death he predicted he would never make the Hall of Fame until after he died.
However, during his years of gambling on the Reds, he only placed bets on them to win while he was both the manager and a player on the team.
In March, President Donald Trump announced that he would “pardon” the late great Rose, who served five months in prison in 1990.
“Major League Baseball didn’t have the courage or decency to put the late, great, Pete Rose, also known as ‘Charlie Hustle,’ into the Baseball Hall of fame. Now he is dead, will never experience the thrill of being selected, even though he was a FAR BETTER PLAYER than most of those who made it, and can only be named posthumously. WHAT A SHAME!” Trump posted.
“Anyway, over the next few weeks I will be signing a complete PARDON of Pete Rose, who shouldn’t have been gambling on baseball, but only bet on HIS TEAM WINNING. He never betted against himself, or the other team. He had the most hits, by far, in baseball history, and won more games than anyone in sports history. Baseball, which is dying all over the place, should get off its fat, lazy a–, and elect Pete Rose, even though far too late, into the Baseball Hall of Fame!”
Meanwhile, the latest ruling deems Rose eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2028.
Another Reds great and Hall of Famer Barry Larkin applauded the decision as well.
“It would have been super amazing to be able to share his enshrinement with him as with us being from Cincinnati and him being my first manager,” Larkin said. “He gave me my first opportunity. He’s a guy I grew up idolizing and trying to be like.
“I feel like it would be a wonderful thing for the west side of Cincinnati, for Cincinnati as a whole and all of Red’s land. It will be amazing.”
Rose was dubbed the “Hit King” as the sport’s all-time leader in hits with 4,256. His achievements also include the 1963 National League Rookie of the Year, the 1973 NL Most Valuable Player and a winner of three batting titles and two Gold Gloves.
Additionally, he was a 17-time all-star and was named to the MLB’s All-Century team in 1999.
Most baseball experts believe Rose’s career is better than most players who have been elected to the Hall of Fame.
The ruling also allows “Shoeless” Joe Jackson’s chances of getting into the Hall of Fame to increase. He was accused of taking part in the 1919 Black Sox scandal, which he and seven other players were banned from the MLB for fixing the World Series that year.
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