MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred calls decision to take Pete Rose off permanently ineligible list ‘difficult’

Major League Baseball removed Pete Rose from its permanently ineligible list earlier this month. 

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said that the decision to reinstate Rose was “difficult.”

“It’s a difficult decision because people are passionate about issues like this,” Manfred said in a recent appearance on “CBS Mornings.” 

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“When you come up (on) the side of the business that I came up, living up to your agreements is a really important thing and this was overdue in my opinion.” 

Manfred said there were three different factors that drove the decision to reinstate MLB’s hit king.

“Number one: Our permanently ineligible list is effectively a ban on working in the game. This is a matter of logic. There’s no reason to have a person who has passed away still on that list. Number two: Pete Rose is a part of the history of our game. Every other player, including ‘Shoeless’ Joe Jackson, has been considered by the Hall of Fame and they’ve made a decision. I saw no reason to leave Pete Rose out there as one of one, no consideration,” Manfred said. 

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“And then, last, I think what people don’t realize is Pete Rose wasn’t disciplined by commissioner (Bart) Giamatti. He entered a settlement agreement with the league. At the time they entered into that settlement, he went on the permanently ineligible list knowing that the rules allowed the Hall of Fame to consider him. Commissioner Giamatti went out, had a press conference the day of the settlement and he was asked about the Hall of Fame and he said this settlement should have nothing to do with the Hall of Fame,” Manfred said.

“The Hall of Fame should consider Pete Rose under its existing rules. So I see the decision as baseball living up to the deal that they originally made with Pete Rose.”

Rose died at age 83 in September 2024, but the debate about whether he should be in the Hall of Fame has raged on. 

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The Cincinnati Reds star became a polarizing figure when news of his gambling on games rocked the sports world. Rose received a lifetime ban from MLB in 1989, but after his removal from the permanently ineligible list, will be eligible to be voted on for the first time. 

Rose is MLB’s hit king with 4,256 career hits. He was the National League MVP in 1974 and was a 17-time All-Star, a three-time World Series champion and a three-time batting champion. 

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