Major League Baseball (MLB) has lifted the posthumous ban on former Cincinnati Reds manager Pete Rose, enabling his eligibility for the Baseball Hall of Fame for the first time since his 1989 suspension for betting on games involving his own team.
The announcement by Commissioner Rob Manfred, made on the eve of Pete Rose Day in Cincinnati, marks a major shift in MLB’s approach to lifetime bans.
The decision also retroactively clears those implicated in the 1919 Black Sox scandal, including Shoeless Joe Jackson.
Manfred stated that Rose’s original ineligibility resulted from a settlement agreement, not a formal commissioner-issued ban, and asserted the lifting aligns with the intentions of former commissioner Bart Giamatti, who had suspended Rose.
“The lifetime ban was itself a severe punishment,” Manfred said, denying that political influence from figures such as Donald Trump factored into the decision.
Rose, who died in September 2024 at age 83, accumulated a record 4,256 hits during his career.
While his on-field achievements were considerable, his legacy has long been marred by a series of controversies, both during and after his playing days.
Most notably, he was permanently banned from Major League Baseball in 1989 for betting on games while managing the Cincinnati Reds—an offence he denied for years before admitting in 2004.
Rose also served five months in prison in 1990 for tax evasion and faced further controversy in 2017 after court documents revealed allegations of a sexual relationship with a minor, which he disputed.
Critics cite his lack of remorse and failure to seek rehabilitation as reasons to question any attempt at reinstatement.
The decision has been sharply criticised by Marcus Giamatti, son of the late commissioner, who warned that the move undermines the integrity of the sport.
“Without integrity, I believe the game of baseball, as we know it, will cease to exist,” he revealed.
It has also been widely criticised on social media. Some users on X (formerly Twitter) criticised the move, while others called the ban lifting ‘long overdue.’
So is there no lifetime ban for betting on baseball? Is it no longer MLBs cardinal sin? These bans should remain. It makes no sense to suddenly lift them after all this time, as if the bans were wrongly given but we’re only finding it out now. Also, it’s ridiculous to do this…
— Nick in the D 👊 (@NickInTheD) May 13, 2025
Waited til they died to lift the ban. What a joke.
— Jerm (@IamJerm24) May 13, 2025
Way overdue. Was Pete rose an all around great guy? Probably not but the talent was there and he was among the all time greatest players in baseball history. Should’ve been in the hall years ago
— Erick (@EKlambara) May 13, 2025
Rose will now be eligible for nomination to the Hall of Fame’s Classic Baseball Era Committee in 2027, but would still require 12 of 16 votes from a panel including former players, executives, writers and historians.
The Hall of Fame has yet to confirm whether it will amend its 1991 rule disqualifying players with permanent bans, leaving Rose’s actual induction far from certain.