One of the biggest up-and-down stories in baseball history is that of Pete Rose. Rose still holds the record for most hits of all time, but his personal life and record of betting on baseball clouds his impressive stats.
But now, President Donald Trump is pushing for a reconsideration of Rose’s legacy. On Friday, he announced on Truth Social:
Major League Baseball didn’t have the courage or decency to put the late, great, Pete Rose, also known as “Charlie Hustle,” into the Baseball Hall of fame. Now he is dead, will never experience the thrill of being selected, even though he was a FAR BETTER PLAYER than most of those who made it, and can only be named posthumously. WHAT A SHAME! Anyway, over the next few weeks I will be signing a complete PARDON of Pete Rose, who shouldn’t have been gambling on baseball, but only bet on HIS TEAM WINNING. He never betted against himself, or the other team. He had the most hits, by far, in baseball history, and won more games than anyone in sports history. Baseball, which is dying all over the place, should get off its fat, lazy ass, and elect Pete Rose, even though far too late, into the Baseball Hall of Fame!
It's unclear what Trump would pardon Rose for. The Athletic reports that “Rose served five months in prison after pleading guilty to filing a false tax return in 1990.”
“A pardon wouldn’t directly make Rose eligible for the Hall of Fame,” writes The Athletic’s Jenna West. “MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in 2023 he had no intention of altering Rose’s lifetime ban.”
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However, the tide may be changing for Rose after his September 2024 death. Rose’s family submitted a petition to Major League Baseball (MLB) Commissioner Rob Manfred to remove Rose from baseball’s ineligible list, and it looks like MLB may be considering acceding to the petition.
Jeffrey Lenkov, a Los Angeles lawyer who represented Rose prior to his death at age 83 in late September, said he filed the reinstatement petition after he and Fawn Rose, the oldest daughter of Pete Rose, met with Manfred and MLB spokesman Pat Courtney in the commissioner's office on Dec. 17.
"The commissioner was respectful, gracious, and actively participated in productive discussions regarding removing Rose from the ineligible list," Lenkov said of the one-hour meeting in the commissioner's office. Lenkov said he is seeking Rose's removal from MLB's banned list for betting on baseball "so that we could seek induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, which had long been his desire and is now being sought posthumously by his family."
MLB sources acknowledged the commissioner met with Fawn Rose and Lenkov and that Manfred is now reviewing the petition to reinstate Rose. In December 2015, Manfred rejected Rose's reinstatement petition after meeting with Pete Rose. Manfred and Courtney declined to comment on Saturday.
"He was passionate about Pete,” Lenkov said of President Trump. “Pete would have appreciated the president's commitment to him."
Does this mean that Rose could finally make his way into the Hall of Fame? We can only hope that the albatross of gambling at the twilight of an impressive career might no longer hang on the neck of “Charlie Hustle.” Rose may not have been the epitome of unimpeachable character, but his baseball achievements are still impressive. He belongs in the Hall of Fame.
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