Pete Rose, ‘Shoeless’ Joe Jackson reinstated from MLB’s permanently ineligible list: Next stop, Hall of Fame?
Pete Rose, Major League Baseball’s all-time hits leader, has been posthumously reinstated by Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred, the league announced Tuesday. The decision removes Rose from MLB’s permanently ineligible list after some 36 years as Manfred ruled that lifetime bans do not apply posthumously. Manfred’s decision comes after a petition filed by California attorney Jeffrey Lenkov, who represented Rose prior to his September 2024 death at the age of 83, and public pressure from President Donald Trump.
“Obviously, a person no longer with us cannot represent a threat to the integrity of the game,” Manfred wrote in a letter to Lenkov. “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.”
Shoeless Joe Jackson, who was banned for the Chicago Black Sox scandal, and 15 other late players have also been reinstated.
While Rose’s restoration is a necessary first step toward one day appearing on a Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, Manfred’s decision does not guarantee such an outcome. That decision will ultimately be made by the Hall itself at multiple levels of oversight. The next step is to be nominated by the Hall of Fame’s Historical Overview Committee, which is selected by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America and approved by the Hall’s board. It is not certain when such procedures would be undertaken or what the outcome of them would be.
On that point, the Hall of Fame’s chairman of the board Jane Forbes Clark released the following statement on Tuesday pursuant to Manfred’s decision:
“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. 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.”
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Rose agreed to be placed on the permanently ineligible list in 1989, and two years later the Hall of Fame passed a rule stating that those on the permanently ineligible list were not eligible for election into the Hall. As such, Rose has never appeared on a Hall of Fame ballot.
Rose’s placement on the list was the result of his alleged betting on baseball — allegations Rose finally admitted to in his 2004 autobiography, albeit after years of denials. According to MLB’s investigation, Rose on multiple occasions bet on the Cincinnati Reds to win from 1985-87 during which time he both played for and managed the team. Rose had appealed for reinstatement multiple times, including one that was denied by Manfred in 2015. Rose’s placement on the list was in keeping with the punishments laid out in the text of Rule 21(d), which has for decades been posted in every major-league clubhouse.
As a player, Rose spent parts of 24 seasons in the majors, 19 of which came with his hometown Reds. Over that span, Rose amassed an MLB-record 4,256 hits. He’s also the all-time leader in games played (3,562) and plate appearances (15,890). In addition to being named National League MVP in 1973 and earning 17 All-Star selections, Rose also won three World Series rings.
Reds owner Bob Castellini released the following statement through the club after Rose was reinstated:
“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.
“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.”
As for Jackson, he was one of eight players banned from playing baseball for life by then commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis in 1921 for their alleged roles in fixing the 1919 World Series. The decision ended Jackson’s playing career at age 33 and coming off an exceptionally strong 1920 season. He was exiled from the game with a lifetime batting average of .356 and a career WAR of 62.2. Jackson appeared on Hall of Fame ballots in 1936 and 1946 without ever receiving more than 1% of the vote.
In 2015, Manfred denied a bid to reinstate Jackson. At the time, he wrote to the Shoeless Joe Jackson Museum: “The results of this work demonstrate to me that it is not possible now, over 95 years since those events took place and were considered by Commissioner Landis, to be certain enough of the truth to overrule Commissioner Landis’ determinations.”
In addition to Rose and Jackson, Eddie Cicotte, Happy Felsch, Chick Gandil, 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 were also reinstated.