Posted on 05/13/2025 1:16:13 PM PDT by God luvs America
In a historic, sweeping decision, baseball commissioner Rob Manfred on Tuesday removed Pete Rose, "Shoeless" Joe Jackson and other deceased players from Major League Baseball's permanently ineligible list.
The all-time hit king and Jackson -- both longtime baseball pariahs stained by gambling, seen by MLB as the game's mortal sin -- are now presumably eligible for election into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.
Manfred ruled that MLB's punishment of banned individuals ends upon their deaths.
"Obviously, a person no longer with us cannot represent a threat to the integrity of the game," Manfred wrote in a letter to attorney Jeffrey M. Lenkov, who petitioned for Rose's removal from the list Jan. 8. "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."
Manfred's decision ends the ban that Rose accepted from then-Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti in August 1989, following an MLB investigation that determined the 17-time All-Star had bet on games while managing the Cincinnati Reds.
(Excerpt) Read more at espn.com ...
They were banned for life, now their lifetimes are over. So the ban should be lifted.
> Pete Rose bet FOR his own team to win. <
True. But his bets might have motivated him to make decisions that he otherwise would not have made.
Do I rest my best pitcher for one more day? That would be good for the team. Or do I use him today, in a game I have big money on?
I think it all boils down to what the Hall of Fame is meant to be. If it’s meant to simply recognize great accomplishments, then as a player Rose is in.
But if it’s also meant to inspire, then Rose is out.
A good argument could be made either way.
If they want to look at sports betting, closely examine all who are connected with fantasy betting like Fan Duel. There’s too much money involved for some sort of rigging not to be going on.
Personally, I think it’s ruined the NFL’s credibility.
I have been a subscriber to MLB to watch games. With the addition of Fanduel, I can no longer watch my favorite teams play. Called MLB about a separate issue and told them my concern. They agreed with me but said that there is nothing they could to to help. No more of my money is going to MLB.
In Busch Stadium today there are numerous signs for some company called Bet365. The Cardinal games are shown on the FanDuel network. FanDuel, apparently, is a sports gambling company.
Of course, players, coaches, and umpires should be completely prohibited from gambling on baseball, but the league and the teams are profiting a great deal from gambling on baseball.
Seems to me just a bit hypocritical. And we are likely going to see a big gambling scandal hit one of the major sports sooner or later.
ANY betting, for or against your own team corrupts the game. ANYTHING, ANY MOTIVE... besides wanting to win the game purely because it’s your profession and duty to yourself and your team, is corrupt!
Stupid ass.
He was my favorite player of all time. I modeled my playing ball after him.
He was pretty much a sick, deviant, sexually predatory scumbag.
Pete Rose bet on his own team when he was the manager of that team. That has a direct impact on how he chooses to manage that game, especially in terms of the pitching staff.
The first good decision by MLB in decades.
Yup. He was never my favorite player - hey, I was a Cubs fan! - but I did very much admire him as a kid. I suppose I do still admire how he played on the field.
But - lesson in never making a hero out of an athlete (or an actor or a musician) whose entertainment you enjoy.
Not sure what the voters will do with regards to Shoeless Joe Jackson.
Jackson? Without the lifetime ban, he would be just like the other big names from that era. Now he has lost the thing that separated him from those others. Everybody remembers his name, but .... quick .... name one of the other 7 who were banned.
Rose should have known better but must have thought he was smarter than everybody else and would not get caught, or maybe it would just blow over. Looks like he wasn't wrong, just ahead of his time.
You sir...are a card. With a twisted sense of humor. I like that. =;^)
Pete Rose also bet as a player.
The thing about he bet on the Reds only to win is a non-starter. Did he make managerial decisions such as leaving in a pitcher too long, or start a reliever too soon because of his bet on that game?
Rose lied for years about betting on baseball. It was only when the records came out that showed him betting on baseball as a player that he admitted he did. Rose was a great player. But he put his gambling before the team. That speaks a lot about him.
Considering that national bookie joints are sponsors of MLB now, it seems a bit precious to pretend they still have concerns about gamblers.
Eddie Cicotte is basically the equal of Stan Coveleski or Dazzy Vance! Not an inner circle guy, but probably HoF caliber if not for the Black Sox.
Pretty clear that Rose was always trying to make the least admission, until he got proven wrong.
What's really ironic is that Rose was among the fiercest competitors around. I can't see him throwing a game he was involved with just to win a few bucks. But, you never know.
It’s absurd this didn’t happen when Rose was still alive.
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