Pete Rose seeks MLB reinstatement following sign-stealing scandal

In his latest attempt at MLB reinstatement, Pete Rose is arguing that his 30-year ban for gambling is disproportionate to the lenient punishments received by those involved in the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal. Will this finally exonerate the MLB all-time hits leader?

MLB legend Pete Rose has been banned from baseball since August 1989 after being accused of betting on games during his time as both a player and a manager with the Cincinnati Reds. The ban has endured various reinstatement attempts across four different commissioners, starting with Bart Giamatti, and lasting through Robert Manfred. All of them found no compelling reasons to lift his punishment.

The lifetime ban has also outlasted the scandalous steroid era and now has come back into question in the wake of the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal. Commissioner Robert Manfred has been criticized for handing out soft punishments against manager A.J. Hinch, GM Jeff Luhnow, and all of the players involved, and Pete Rose did not hesitate to capitalize on Manfred’s action.

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Rose and his lawyers submitted a petition to the commissioner’s office in his latest attempt to earn reinstatement. However, this one could garner more attention from the commissioner. In the petition, Rose and his associates argue that Manfred set the precedent that the MLB will not harshly punish players who commit major game-altering infractions. Thus, since Rose’s infraction did not have any direct impact on the outcomes of the games he bet on, his ban should be lifted.

The petition also cites the disproportionally light punishments handed out to violators of the performance-enhancing drug abuse policy compared to Rose’s offense.

Rose has not been quiet about his feelings towards the Astros’ scandal. In January, Rose said, “Which one is worse, stealing signs electronically, taking steroids or betting on baseball” Tim Dahlberg of the Associated Press reported. “All three are bad. But at least what I did never had anything to do with the outcome of the game.”

On the surface level, Rose’s new testimony makes sense. Compared to other scandals in MLB history, Rose’s offense seems mild. Back in January, I ranked the Pete Rose scandal lower than any other major cheating scandal in MLB history for many of the same reasons he cited in his newest petition. Furthermore, the general public has been on Rose’s side for years. Many believe the all-time hit kind deserves a spot in Cooperstown. They even exploded in protest for him after the Astros’ punishments were announced, per Jeff Kallman.

However, Rose’s reinstatement is far from a given. Throughout his ban, the MLB has chosen to follow the strict precedent towards betting on baseball that was set in the Black Sox scandal all the way back in 1921. Furthermore, Manfred has already denied Rose’s reinstatement once, back in 2015. While he admitted his wrongdoings in his 2004 book, My Prison Without Bars, Manfred contended that Rose has not yet been rehabilitated of his gambling habits, as he still regularly bets on baseball, albeit legally in Las Vegas. It is not far-fetched to believe Manfred will regurgitate the same argument this time around.

Now 78-years old, Pete Rose is starving to be granted reinstatement into the MLB. If he does, he will become eligible for the Hall of Fame, where he will inevitably be enshrined. There is no doubt he is one of the best players of all time. While he might be a flawed man, Rose himself and may others across the league believe he has served his time.

It appears this latest reinstatement attempt could be his best shot yet, and perhaps the last one he’s got.