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Pete Rose, ‘Shoeless’ Joe Jackson and other formerly banned baseball players have been reinstated by Major League Baseball
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MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announced Tuesday that lifetime bans against players will stop being enforced once a player has died
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Rose, Jackson and others could now be eligible for induction into baseball’s Hall of Fame
Pete Rose and “Shoeless” Joe Jackson have been reinstated by Major League Baseball as a result of a groundbreaking ruling Tuesday by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, clearing the way for the legendary baseball players to be eligible to be inducted into the Cooperstown Hall of Fame.
Manfred’s ruling on Tuesday afternoon, announced by the MLB, says that lifetime bans against players will stop being enforced once a player has died.
The decision came after Rose’s family requested Manfred and the MLB to make an official policy stance on the matter following Rose’s death last September.
“In my view, a determination must be made regarding how the phrase ‘permanently ineligible’ should be interpreted in light of the purposes and policies behind Rule 21, which are to: (1) protect the game from individuals who pose a risk to the integrity of the sport by prohibiting the participation of such individuals; and (2) create a deterrent effect that reduces the likelihood of future violations by others,” Manfred wrote in an open letter to Jeffrey M. Lenkov, the attorney for Rose.
“In my view, once an individual has passed away, the purposes of Rule 21 have been served,” Manfred added. “Obviously, a person no longer with us cannot represent a threat to the integrity of the game. 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.”
The decision clears the way for players like Rose and Jackson, who died in 1951, to be elected to the Hall of Fame.
Rose received a lifetime ban from baseball on Aug. 23, 1989 after it was revealed he bet on games — though, the longtime Cincinnati Reds catcher contented, not against his own team. Due to the ban, he was controversially never eligible for the Hall of Fame during his lifetime.
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“Shoeless” Joe Jackson
Jackson and seven other members of the 1919 Chicago White Sox were banned in 1921, two years after they were accused of fixing the World Series. The Sox lost the series to the Reds and Jackson received $5,000 for helping throw the games, according to ESPN.
Known as the “Chicago Black Sox” scandal, Jackson and his perceived guilt over the lifetime ban became central motifs in the 1989 film Field of Dreams, starring Kevin Costner and Ray Liotta as “Jackson.”
MLB said Tuesday that there are currently 17 deceased players who were banned for life, to whom its new ruling would apply.
In addition to Rose and Jackson, the list includes 1921 Sox members Eddie Cicotte, Happy Felsch, Chick Gandil, Fred McMullin, Swede Risberg, Buck Weaver and Lefty Williams. It also includes other players who have been banned over the years, including Joe Gedeon, Gene Paulette, Benny Kauff, Lee Magee, Phil Douglas, Cozy Dolan, Jimmy O’Connell and William Cox.
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Pete Rose
Rose’s absence from Baseball’s Hall of Fame is widely seen as one of the most glaring omissions in sports history, though his inclusion has been debated for decades. The debate has only grown louder as the MLB and other major sports leagues have adopted partnerships with sports betting companies in recent years.
One of the greatest hitters of all-time, Rose’s 4,256 career hits are more than any other MLB player to ever play.
A Reds icon, the hard-nosed catcher won the National League Rookie of the Year Award in 1963 and was a key member of the 1970s “Big Red Machine” teams, who dominated baseball for years. Rose, who won the National League MVP Award in 1973, helped the Reds win two World Series championships in 1975 and 1976. He was also named an MLB All-Star 17 times throughout his historic career.
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After years of denying the allegations, Rose finally admitted to betting on baseball teams, including his own, in his 2004 autobiography, Pete Rose: My Story.
In an interview with KTLA, believed to be his last before his death, Rose said he hoped the MLB will give him a “second chance.”
“It’s been a long time, and there’s been a lot of negative things happen in the world of baseball,” Rose said at the time. “I was absolutely 110% wrong for what I did … and that’s bet on baseball games, and now you’re punished for the rest of your life.”
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