Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred on Tuesday announced a major change in league policy, designating Pete Rose and “Shoeless” Joe Jackson among a group of deceased players eligible for the Hall of Fame.
Manfred has officially removed Rose and Jackson from the sport’s “permanent ineligibility” list. Both players were banned from the sport over their betting scandals.
Tuesday’s move clears the way for the deceased players to possibly be voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
The major decision comes in response to a petition from Rose’s family.
Rose, baseball’s all-time hits leader, was banned from baseball and the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989 for betting on games. An MLB investigation found that Rose bet on Cincinnati Reds games while serving as the team’s manager. This resulted in his permanent ineligibility, or ban, from the league.
In 1991, the Hall of Fame expanded on its guidelines and adopted a rule that anyone on MLB’s permanently ineligible list would also be ineligible for Hall of Fame induction. Rose, a 17-time All-Star, died last September at 83 years old.
Jackson was among the eight Chicago White Sox players banned for throwing the 1919 World Series. The .356 career hitter died in 1951.
In announcing the change in policy, MLB Commissioner Manfred concluded that permanent ineligibility ends upon the passing of the disciplined individual.
“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 on 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.”
Cincinnati Reds owner Bob Castellini said he was thankful for the decision to remove Rose from the list.
“Pete is one of the greatest players in baseball history, and Reds Country will continue to celebrate him as we always have,” Castellini said. “We are especially happy for the Rose family to receive this news and what this decision could mean for them and all of Pete’s fans.”
There are a total of 17 deceased individuals on the MLB’s banned list impacted by Tuesday’s announcement, including former Philadelphia Phillies president Williams D. Cox and former New York Giants outfielder Benny Kauff.
In addition to Rose and Jackson, the other deceased baseball players that were reinstated by MLB are Eddie Cicotte, Happy Felsch, Chick Gandil, Fred McMullin, Swede Risberg, Buck Weaver, Lefty Williams, Joe Gedeon, Gene Paulette, Benny Kauff, Lee Magee, Phil Douglas, Cozy Dolan, Jimmy O'Connell, and William Cox.
Going forward, a 10-person committee, which includes Hall of Fame members, team executives, and historians, will consider some of them for candidacy at winter meetings, according to Hall of Fame Chairman of the Board Jane Forbes Clark.
“The Historical Overview Committee will develop the ballot of eight names for the Classic Baseball Era Committee—which evaluates candidates who made their greatest impact on the game prior to 1980—to vote on when it meets next in December 2027,” Clark said.
