MLB Lifts Lifetime Ban on Pete Rose and Others

NEW YORK: Major League Baseball (MLB) revealed on Tuesday that the lifetime ban on Pete Rose has been rescinded, along with those of 16 other deceased individuals.

This decision allows the former manager of the Cincinnati Reds to be eligible for consideration into the Baseball Hall of Fame for the first time since his suspension in 1989.

Commissioner Rob Manfred’s announcement follows a request from Rose’s family after he passed away on September 30, 2024, at age 83.

Among those who have been reinstated are players who were a part of the notorious 1919 Black Sox scandal, notably Shoeless Joe Jackson.

Commissioner Manfred clarified that Pete Rose was not formally banned through an official directive. Instead, Rose accepted the penalty as part of a mutual understanding with then-Commissioner Bartlett Giamatti on August 24, 1989.

Manfred mentioned that Giamatti never intended for the consequence to be permanent.

“The lifetime ban was a stern punishment in itself,” Manfred stated.

Rose, who holds the MLB record with 4,256 hits, was the manager of the Reds while also wagering on games—a transgression he denied for several years before admitting to it publicly in 2004.

Throughout his career and beyond, Rose remained a controversial personality. In 1990, he was imprisoned for five months for tax evasion, and in 2017, he faced accusations—which Rose contested—of a prior sexual relationship with a minor.

With the rise of sports betting and MLB’s collaborations with gambling entities, an increasing number of fans and commentators have advocated for Rose’s reinstatement, asserting that the changing environment makes his continued exclusion unjust.

Rose’s reinstatement does not ensure induction into the Hall of Fame; however, it makes him eligible for consideration for the first time in 35 years.