Pete Rose Reinstatement: Baseball Great Meets With MLB Commissioner, Decision

He applied for reinstatement in September 1997 and met with Commissioner Bud Selig in November 2002, but Selig never ruled on Rose’s application.

The Cincinnati Reds legend met with Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred on Thursday in order to discuss his case for reinstatement.

USA Today says a decision on Rose’s reinstatement will be made by the end of the year.

Both sides agreed to refrain from further comment.

According to ESPN’s Outside the Lines, sources assert that Manfred will give a thumbs down to reinstating Rose, who was banned from baseball for life on August 24, 1989 for betting on games.

John Dowd, the former federal prosecutor who led the investigation that resulted in MLB’s banning of Rose, on Friday told ESPN’s William Weinbaum: “I’m glad they met, and I have no doubt the commissioner will see him and the game fairly”.

Local12.com Digital Sports Columnist/Editor Richard Skinner wrote after that story was reported that it confirmed what baseball always knew about Rose, why he hasn’t been reinstated and why he likely won’t be ever. Manfred succeeded Selig in January.

That all said, the decision lies in one man’s hands and Rob Manfred, as progressive as he may want to be, isn’t likely to buck the trend of his two most recent predecessors in this regard either.

Rose’s attorney, Ray Genco, declined comment when reached by The News.

Major League Baseball rules stipulate that “any player, umpire or club or league official or employee who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has a duty to perform shall be declared permanently ineligible”.

The on-again, off-again saga of Pete Rose, gambling, banishment, and reinstatement appears to be drawing to a close shortly.

It’s not clear how Rose pleaded his case with Manfred. “It’s time to get over it, I think”. As a player, he recorded 4,256 hits over his 24-year career.

If the commissioner reinstates Rose, baseball writers may not elect the game’s all-time hit king to the Hall of Fame.