MLB reinstates Pete Rose after 35 years

NEW YORK: Major League Baseball (MLB) announced on Tuesday that it has officially lifted the lifetime ban on Pete Rose, along with 16 other deceased individuals.

This comes after the former Cincinnati Reds manager to be considered for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame for the first time since his suspension in 1989.

The decision, announced by Commissioner Rob Manfred, comes in response to a petition from Rose's family following his death on September 30, 2024, at the age of 83.

Among those reinstated were players involved in the infamous 1919 Black Sox scandal, including Shoeless Joe Jackson.

Commissioner Manfred clarified that Pete Rose was never formally banned by a direct order but rather accepted the penalty as part of a mutual agreement with then-Commissioner Bartlett Giamatti on August 24, 1989. 

Manfred noted that Giamatti never intended the punishment to be permanent.

"The lifetime ban was itself a severe punishment," Manfred said. 

Rose, MLB’s all-time hits leader with 4,256 hits, managed the Reds while also placing bets on games—a violation he denied for many years before publicly admitting it in 2004.

Throughout his career and after retirement, Rose remained a polarising figure. In 1990, he served five months in prison for tax evasion, and in 2017, he faced allegations—disputed by Rose—of a past sexual relationship with a minor.

With sports betting now widespread and MLB partnering with gambling companies, a growing number of fans and analysts had called for Rose’s reinstatement, arguing that the changing landscape made continued exclusion unfair.

Rose’s reinstatement does not guarantee Hall of Fame induction but makes him eligible for consideration for the first time in 35 years.