MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has decided that he will not lift the permanent ban on all-time hits leader Pete Rose.
Manfred has not announced the decision publicly, but Michael Schmidt of the New York Times reports that Manfred called Rose Monday morning to give him the bad news.
Rose, who was banned from baseball in 1989 after an investigation concluded that he bet on games as a manager, will not be allowed into the Hall of Fame. Some believed he might have a better shot at having the ban lifted once Manfred took over for former commissioner Bud Selig, but new written records that were released in late June showed that Rose actually bet on games as a player — not just while managing.
While it’s unclear if that revelation or the recent statutory rape allegations against Rose played a role in Manfred’s decision, ESPN’s T.J. Quinn reports that it was “extremely unlikely” Rose was going to have the ban lifted even without the new information about his alleged gambling habits.
Rose, 74, had 4,256 hits in his career, won three batting titles and was named an All-Star 17 times. This was likely the last chance he had to be reinstated, at least in his lifetime.
