Pete Rose has spent the last 25 years banned from baseball after agreeing to a permanent banishment for betting on games while he managed the Cincinnati Reds. With the ban, Rose is ineligible to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. But that could possibly change soon.
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Rose has submitted a formal request for reinstatement, according to new commissioner Rob Manfred.
"I do have a formal request from Pete. I will be in communications with his representatives," Manfred said. "I'm prepared to deal with that request on its merits."
Rose was banned from baseball for life in 1989 from then-commissioner Bart Giamatti. Bud Selig upheld Giamatti's ruling during his tenure as commissioner. This is Rose's best shot of reinstatement in the past 25 years.
There's no question that Rose has the merits to be in the hall. Rose still holds the record with 4,256 hits, most games played and most at-bats. To put into perspective of how amazing Rose's hit record is, a player would have to average a little over 200 hits per season for 21 years to break it. That's nearly impossible nowadays with stronger bullpens and specialists that only face one batter.
But even if Rose is reinstated, there's no guarantee that he would be elected to the hall of fame. Baseball writers, who vote for the hall, have shown that they are stringent protectors of the game's morality for denying players like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens from entering, even though they have the credentials.
I believe that Rose has served his punishment for betting on baseball. I hope Manfred does the right thing and reinstates Rose.
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