So sayeth the commissioner.
Pete Rose was banned from baseball in 1989 by then commissioner Bart Giamatti when it was deemed that Rose had bet on the game of baseball while manager of the Cincinnati Reds. It was on that ‘banned’ list – or, rather, the ‘permanently ineligible’ list – Rose remained when he passed away in late 2024.
Such ineligiblity has left Rose, who collected more hits in Major League Baseball games than any other player, out of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Or, that’s the presumption, since we’ve not actually had the chance to see if anyone would vote for his induction given the gambling, his long refusal to admit to those misdeeds, and the admission of sleeping with underage girls during his playing career.
It appears as though current commissioner Rob Manfred has chosen to re-read the ‘permanent’ portion of the ineligible list, however, and on Tuesday MLB announced that Rose, among 17 total former players including Shoeless Joe Jackson, will now be removed from the permanently ineligible list since they’ve all since died.
Brian Murphy of MLB.com relayed the news featuring a statement from HoF Chairman of the Board Jane Forbes Clark.
“The National Baseball Hall of Fame has always maintained that anyone removed from Baseball’s permanently ineligible list will become eligible for Hall of Fame consideration,” Clark said in the statement. “Major League Baseball’s decision to remove deceased individuals from the permanently ineligible list will allow for the Hall of Fame candidacy of such individuals to now be considered. The Historical Overview Committee will develop the ballot of eight names for the Classic Baseball Era Committee – which evaluates candidates who made their greatest impact on the game prior to 1980 – to vote on when it meets next in December 2027.”
As mentioned above, it will be the Classic Baseball Era Committee these names will go through for potential future induction.