MLB Upholds Pete Rose’s Lifetime Ban

Manfred’s ruling means Rose may not associate with MLB’s central office, any major league or affiliated minor league team, continuing a ban that began August 24, 1989.

The notes kept by the Rose gambling go-between indicated that he had bet not just on baseball, but also on his own team, the Reds, during his stint as player-manager in ’86.

According to ESPN, Manfred released the letter he sent to Rose about the ban, writing that Rose has not fully disclosed his continued his participation in gambling and that he “initially denied betting on baseball now”.

Rose had denied he bet on baseball more than a decade after he was banned. He would eventually admit to these allegations in his 2004 autobiography, although he remained adamant that he only gambled on the game as a manager and never as an active player.

Rob Manfred took over for Bud Selig as Major League Baseball commissioner in January of 2015, and received Rose’s application for reinstatement the following month.

But in a move that could leave the door open for Rose’s election to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., Manfred wrote that it’s not his job to determine Rose’s eligibility there.

Reds President Bob Castellini said he he hopes that the Hall of Fame will grant enshrinement to Rose, asserting, “We and the fans think he deserves that opportunity”.

“You don’t know which way to read anything”, Rose said after his meeting with Manfred during the investigation “All I knew is, I was truthful to him, and he asked a lot of questions, and I had a lot of answers”.

This is not the first time Mr. Rose has applied for reinstatement. In 1991 the Hall of Fame ruled that no ineligible player could appear on a Hall of Fame ballot voted on by the Baseball Writers Association of America. The late Bart Giamatti, baseball commissioner at the time, said Rose had to reconfigure his life for there to be possible reinstatement.

Manfred, in another part of his decision, wrote, “Mr. Rose has not presented credible evidence of a reconfigured life”.

Pete Rose broke one of MLB’s most widely known and cherished rules back when he was employed by the Cincinnati Reds.

Manfred cited “new evidence” his staff turned up after Manfred decided in April to reexamine Rose’s case and ordered a “comprehensive review” of the case, and found further instances of Rose violating baseball’s Rule 21 on misconduct. “I’m proud of the commissioner for protecting the integrity of the game”. Manfred said that’s a separate issue.

But Rose apparently blew his interview with the commissioner. He was also an All-Star 16 times and won three batting championships, Sports Illustrated noted.