(Reuters) – Pete Rose, “Shoeless” Joe Jackson and other deceased players will be removed from Major League Baseball’s permanently ineligible list, Commissioner Rob Manfred said, possibly clearing the way for their induction into the Hall of Fame.
Rose, MLB’s all-time hits leader, was caught betting on games while manager of the Cincinnati Reds and was barred for life from baseball by Commissioner Bart Giamatti in 1989.
A key part of the Cincinnati Reds’ “Big Red Machine” that won back-to-back World Series titles in 1975 and 1976, Rose petitioned the league to be allowed back into the sport numerous times over the years but was unsuccessful. He died in September.
Jackson and seven members of the Chicago White Sox were charged with being paid by gamblers to throw the 1919 World Series and were banned from the league in 1921.
Manfred said the purpose of designating a player “permanently ineligible” – to protect the integrity of the sport by prohibiting the participation of those individuals and to create a deterrent effect to reduce the likelihood of future violations – breaks down once a player has died.
“Obviously, a person no longer with us cannot represent a threat to the integrity of the game,” Manfred said in response to a letter from an attorney for Rose.
“Moreover, it is hard to conceive of a penalty that has more deterrent effect than one that lasts a lifetime with no reprieve.
“Therefore, I have concluded that permanent ineligibility ends upon the passing of the disciplined individual, and Mr. Rose will be removed from the permanently ineligible list.”
The National Baseball Hall of Fame said anyone removed from MLB’s permanently ineligible list will become eligible for Hall of Fame consideration.
“Major League Baseball’s decision to remove deceased individuals from the permanently ineligible list will allow for the Hall of Fame candidacy of such individuals to now be considered,” Hall of Fame chairman of the board Jane Forbes Clark said in a statement.
“The Historical Overview Committee will develop the ballot of eight names for the Classic Baseball Era Committee – which evaluates candidates who made their greatest impact on the game prior to 1980 – to vote on when it meets next in December 2027.”
In addition to Rose and Jackson, the policy change also impacts Eddie Cicotte, Happy Felsch, Chick Gandil, Fred McMullin, Swede Risberg, Buck Weaver, Lefty Williams, Joe Gedeon, Gene Paulette, Benny Kauff, Lee Magee, Phil Douglas, Cozy Dolan, Jimmy O’Connell and William Cox.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Toby Davis)
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