For the next several days, or until the news cycle turns our collective heads, the question of whether Pete Rose belongs in the Baseball Hall of Fame will persist.
The door is open, albeit not wide, for Rose to eventually take his (rightful?) place in Cooperstown. Opinions on Rose are as rampant as the number of hits – 4,256 for those keeping score – he collected in a playing career that had Hall of Fame stamped all over it. There were batting titles, three World Series rings, MVPs and Rose played in more winning games than any player in baseball history. But he stained the game and his reputation in permanent ink by betting on baseball.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred reinstated Rose and 16 others from the permanently ineligible list on Tuesday, putting in a new rule that any player on that list would be reinstated after they died.
Rose wanted nothing more in life than to be a member of the elite club in Cooperstown. His only hope of that happening now will be in the hands of the Classic Era Committee – a 16-member club that considers Negro League and pre-Negro League stars along with players who were great before 1980. The bulk of Rose’s accomplishments happened before 1980 so that qualifies him for candidacy with this group. They meet every three years with the next time coming in December 2027. So, the earliest Rose could be elected is July 2028.
He would have to get 75 percent of the vote (12 total) to be selected and if he did not make the cut in 2027, it would be another three years before that committee meets again. That would make for an induction in July 2031. With each passing three-year span of committee meetings, each “no” vote makes Rose’s induction less likely.
Some have opined if they were Rose’s family, they would tell baseball, “no thanks” (usually put in much stronger words) but it was his family that reached out to Manfred, via their attorney, to reinstate Rose following his death last year. A letter for reinstatement was sent to the commissioner’s office on Jan. 8, 2025.
Others point to baseball’s partnership with FanDuel, DraftKings and other gambling businesses as being hypocritical when it comes to Rose’s case. Hard to argue that, although it is still the rule that players may not bet on baseball or face serious consequences, including a lifetime ban. Baseball is just following the lead of other sports in going down the path of gambling that leads to destruction.
Rose committed the ultimate baseball sin by betting on games, although he said he never bet against the Reds. He paid a lifetime price for his uncontrollable addiction that gripped his life and will likely keep him out of the Hall of Fame.
Even though it was a hopeful sign on Tuesday that the permanent ban was being lifted, my gut feeling is Rose will remain on the outside looking in. It has been more than 40 years since he played his last game, and the blight of his gambling addiction will always burn too bright. It controlled his life and became bigger than the one thing he loved the most – baseball.
As someone who grew up idolizing Rose and the Reds during those Big Red Machine days, it is one of the saddest stories in baseball history.
Mark Maynard is managing editor of Kentucky Today. Reach him at mark.maynard@kentuckytoday.com