MLB Considers Lifting Pete Rose Ban Days After President Donald Trump Vows Pardon

Posted on: March 3, 2025, 08:46h. 

Last updated on: March 3, 2025, 09:47h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
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  • Pete Rose’s baseball ban could soon end
  • Rose was permanently banned for betting on baseball
  • President Trump supports Rose being inducted into the Hall of Fame

Major League Baseball (MLB) is reportedly considering removing Pete Rose from the league’s permanently ineligible list a little more than five months after the game’s all-time hit leader died at the age of 83 in Las Vegas.

Pete Rose MLB Baseball Hall of Fame
The Pete Rose statue shows the late great Cincinnati Reds star diving head first outside Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati on July 29, 2019. Rose died in September 2024, and MLB is now considering removing him from the game’s ineligible list. (Image: Shutterstock)

Rose has remained on MLB’s blacklist since 1989 when he agreed to a settlement with then-MLB Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti. The agreement resolved the league’s probe into whether Rose had placed bets on MLB games he played and coached.

While there are dozens of MLB-prohibited persons, Rose is the only member to be placed on the blacklist as a result of a mutual agreement. In the settlement, Giamatti said MLB wouldn’t make a formal finding of guilt or innocence regarding the sports betting allegations against Rose. The three-time World Series champion was allowed to apply annually for reinstatement.

Five years after becoming ineligible, Rose admitted to betting on baseball, but he maintained that he only bet on himself and his team winning.

MLB Reviewing Case

Days after President Donald Trump fired off a series of opinions regarding why he thinks MLB should reinstate Pete Rose to allow him to become a posthumous member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, ESPN reported that the league is considering doing just that.

Los Angeles attorney Jeffrey Lenkov filed a reinstatement petition with MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred after meeting with Fawn Rose, the late Rose’s eldest daughter. Lenkov said he submitted the application on January 8 after meeting with Manfred on December 17.

The commissioner was respectful, gracious, and actively participated in productive discussions regarding removing Rose from the ineligible list,” Lenkov said.

Should MLB remove Rose from the blacklist, the late Cincinnati Red would become eligible for Cooperstown. After Rose agreed to his 1989 settlement, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, which determines who is enshrined in the Hall of Fame, passed a rule prohibiting any person on the MLB ineligible list from being voted on.

Rose is unquestionably among the greatest ballplayers of all time. He’s the sport’s career leader in hits, games played, at-bats, and singles. A 17-time All-Star, Rose lifted the Commissioner’s Trophy in 1975, 1976, and 1980, with him being honored as MVP of the 1975 Fall Classic.

The Major League Baseball All-Century Team in 1999, chosen by fans, included Rose. Among the 30-player team, Rose is one of only three to not be in Cooperstown with pitcher Roger Clemens and slugger Mark McGwire. Clemens and McGwire were both passed over by the Writers’ Association for their use of steroids when they were eligible for the Hall.

No Bets Allowed

Much has changed since Rose was banned from the game he loved. Sports betting is now legal in 39 states and Washington, DC, and sportsbook adverts in and around the game are now nearly as integral to the fan experience as the seventh-inning stretch.

That doesn’t mean anything’s changed when it comes to players participating in sports betting. MLB players, coaches, team officials, umpires, and club management remain barred from betting on baseball.

“Any player, umpire, or Club or League official or employee, who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has a duty to perform, shall be declared permanently ineligible,” the MLB misconduct rules read.