Rob Manfred defended his choice to reinstate Pete Rose, “Shoeless” Joe Jackson and other deceased banned players.
Manfred, who made the decision May 13 after removing them from the permanently ineligible list, explained his reasoning behind the reinstatement during a Thursday interview on “CBS Mornings,” saying that it was “overdue.”
“I would say three things,” Manfred said. “No. 1: Our permanently ineligible list is effectively a ban on working in the game. This is a matter of logic. There’s no reason to have a person who has passed away still on that list. No. 2: Pete Rose is a part of the history of our game.
“Every other player, including Shoeless Joe Jackson, has been considered by the Hall of Fame and they’ve made a decision. I saw no reason to leave Pete Rose out there as one of one, no consideration.”
Rose, who died in September, was placed on the MLB’s ineligible list in August 1989 due to gambling on baseball as the manager of the Reds.
Manfred, 66, went into detail about Rose’s punishment that was enacted by then-commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti.
“And then, last, I think what people don’t realize is Pete Rose wasn’t disciplined by commissioner Giamatti,” Manfred continued. “He entered a settlement agreement with the league. At the time they entered into that settlement, he went on the permanently ineligible list knowing that the rules allowed the Hall of Fame to consider him.
“Commissioner Giamatti went out, had a press conference the day of the settlement and he was asked about the Hall of Fame and he said this settlement should have nothing to do with the Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame should consider Pete Rose under its existing rules. So I see the decision as baseball living up to the deal that they originally made with Pete Rose.”
Two years after Rose’s settlement with the MLB, the Hall of Fame created a rule stating that any player on a banned list would not be eligible to be inducted, with the league’s all-time hits leader never appearing on a ballot.
Manfred said his decision to reinstate Rose was “difficult,” citing the emotions from the fans and other individuals around the game.
“Yeah, it’s a difficult decision because people are passionate about issues like this,” Manfred said. “When you come up the side of the business that I came up, living up to your agreements is a really important thing and this was overdue, in my opinion.”
Following Manfred’s decision, chairman of the board of the Hall of Fame Jane Forbes Clark said the formerly ineligible players will be considered by the Historical Overview Committee.
The committee is set to create the ballot for the Classic Ball Era Committee to vote on when it next meets in December 2027.