Pete Rose has finally been reinstated by Major League Baseball, but most people seem to agree the league waited too long to change its stance on the Cincinnati Reds legend.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred on Tuesday removed Rose from the league’s permanently ineligible list. The decision was also extended to other deceased players, including “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, making them immediately eligible for selection to the Hall of Fame.
“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 had petitioned for Rose to be removed from the banned list. “Moreover, it is hard to conceive of a penalty that has more deterrent effect than one that lasts a lifetime with no reprieve.”
Rose has been banned from MLB since 1989. The 17-time All-Star died in September at age 83.
After the news surfaced that Rose has been reinstated, countless fans blasted MLB for waiting until he died to remove him from the banned list.
Reinstating Pete Rose after he dies is sickening @MLB https://t.co/gUGknN6nuu
— Tanner Swift (@theothertswift) May 13, 2025
It’s a shame they waited until Pete Rose had died to take him off the banned list. He should have been in the HOF years ago.
— Jason Romano (@JasonRomano) May 13, 2025
It is DISGRACEFUL MLB waited until after he died – Pete Rose Hall of Fame: Reds legend removed from MLB ineligible list https://t.co/uxzcehGKFT
— Greta Van Susteren (@greta) May 13, 2025
Pete Rose should have been in the Hall of Fame long ago and certainly while he was still alive. Glad the way is now clear for it to happen but what a shame they waited until now. pic.twitter.com/YseWzTU8xZ
— Boris Zilberman (@rolltidebmz) May 13, 2025
Absolutely pathetic they waited for Pete Rose to pass away before giving him his day in the sun
— Gary Sheffield Jr. (@GarysheffieldJr) May 13, 2025
Reprehensible https://t.co/6a0q2AevIA
Manfred’s decision removed Rose and 15 other players from the banned list, including several members of the 1919 Chicago White Sox accused of fixing the World Series.
Rose played in MLB from 1963-1986. He won NL Rookie of the Year in 1963 and NL MVP in 1973. He led the NL in batting average three times, on-base percentage twice, doubles five times, runs scored four times, and hits seven times. Rose retired as, and remains, MLB’s all-time leader in hits (4,256), games (3,562), at-bats (14,053) and plate appearances (15,890).
Rose only bet on his own team to win, which is why many felt his ban should have been lifted years ago. In an interview not long before he died, Rose predicted that MLB would reinstate him after his death. He was right.
