Pete Rose denied request to be on Hall of Fame ballot

The Hall of Fame denied Pete Rose’s request to be on the ballot, but he’ll still be around for other baseball activities.

Pete Rose is like the horror movie villain who never dies. He might go away for a while. You might forget all about him for a few months. But, like Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees, he keeps coming back. His next rise-from-the-dead appearance is slated for Saturday in Cincinnati, where the Reds will unveil a headfirst-sliding statue of the Hit King at Great American Park.

Previously, Rose had come out of exile for the 2015 All-Star game in Cincinnati. Last year, the team retired his number. He’s also popped up on FOX broadcasts during the postseason, where he and Alex Rodriguez make an interesting combination. And, as always, you can often buy his autograph in Las Vegas, for a price.

About the only place you won’t see Rose pop up these days is as a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. In 2015, Rose requested to have his lifetime ban for betting on baseball lifted by MLB commissioner Rob Manfred. His request was denied and Manfred reaffirmed that Rose would not be allowed to work for any MLB team.

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At the time Manfred added that his decision to continue Rose’s lifetime ban did not mean that Rose wouldn’t be eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame. MLB and the Hall of Fame are separate entities. The Hall of Fame has the ability to make its own rules about who is honored and who isn’t. The Hall of Fame could choose to allow Rose to be on the ballot.

It was recently reported that Rose asked the Baseball Hall of Fame for a spot on the ballot last December. His request was denied but Hall of Fame president Jeff Idelson pointed out that many Rose artifacts are in the museum. You will see Pete Rose memorabilia when you visit the Hall of Fame, but you won’t see a Hall of Fame plaque with his name on it. Idelson said, “You certainly can’t tell the history of baseball without including Pete Rose.” He added, “We feel it would be incongruous to be putting someone on a ballot that is otherwise banned from the game.”

I’ve gone back-and-forth on the debate over whether Pete Rose belongs in the Hall of Fame. I watched him play when I was a kid and I loved how hard he played. I loved the way he batted in a crouched down stance from either side of the plate and lined singles all over the diamond, one after another. I loved how heads up he was, like this play in the 1980 World Series when the ball popped out of catcher Bob Boone’s glove and Rose was right there to make the play.

Then the rumors of his gambling came out and, ultimately, he was banned from baseball. For me, banned from baseball meant banned from the Hall of Fame. He violated the rule that is famously posted in every clubhouse. Over the last three decades, I’ve wrestled with the question and changed my mind a few times. Now I’m on the other side. His memorabilia is there, but he doesn’t deserve a plaque.

The defining moment for me was when Manfred denied Rose’s petition for reinstatement in December of 2015. One of the reasons Manfred didn’t lift the ban was because Rose was still betting on baseball. He was doing it legally, in Las Vegas, but it still defied comprehension. Rose said, “I worked hard my whole life. I’m 74 years old and that’s the way I get my enjoyment.” For any other 74-year-old, fine, go ahead and bet on baseball. But for a 74-year-old who is banned from the game for betting on baseball, it’s mind-boggling that he would continue to do so. That was it for me.

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Rose will continue to be associated with baseball. He’ll likely be sparring with Alex Rodriguez on FOX this fall. He’ll also be honored in August when the Philadelphia Phillies induct him into the Phillies Wall of Fame. Like Mike Myers and Jason Voorhees, he’ll never go away for good, but he won’t be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

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