Major League Baseball announced last season that Pete Rose’s latest appeal for reinstatement has been denied, so Rose has decided to try a different angle.
He’s pleading with the National Baseball Hall of Fame directly.
Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports obtained a copy of a lengthy letter Rose sent to the Hall of Fame that argues for the Cincinnati Reds legend’s name to appear on future ballots. In the seven-page letter, which was addressed to Hall of Fame president Jeff Idelson, Rose argues that former MLB commissioner Bart Giamatti intentionally left out language that excludes him from the Hall of Fame when Giamatti banned the slugger from baseball in 1989.
As the letter notes, “the consequences of being placed on the ineligible list were clear and specific – and did not include a Hall of Fame prohibition” when Rose accepted his ban 27 years ago. However, the Hall of Fame put a rule into place in 1991 that stated no player who has been permanently banned from baseball can be enshrined in Cooperstown. As Brown pointed out, that rule was passed roughly a year before Rose was eligible to appear on the ballot.
In other words, Rose’s ban from baseball did not necessarily mean he had no shot at making the Hall of Fame — at least then. The circumstances are different now, and Rose and his attorneys are arguing over whether that is fair. You can read the full letter here.
When MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announced his decision in December to uphold Rose’s ban, Idelson issued a statement that said, “Pete Rose remains ineligible for Hall of Fame consideration, based on the Hall of Fame’s bylaws, which preclude any individual on baseball’s ineligible list from being considered for election.”
Rose has virtually no shot at appearing on future ballots despite his latest effort. If you remember, he ruined any chance he had of earning reinstatement under former MLB commissioner Bud Selig by not following the plan Selig put in place for him. And with Manfred, Rose admitted he still gambles on baseball games. It’s simply too late for the 75-year-old to show he is serious about having the ban lifted.
