Manfred Denies Rose’s Reinstatement Appeal

Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred has rejected Pete Rose’s plea for reinstatement, citing his continued gambling and evidence that he bet on games when he was playing for the Cincinnati Reds. Manfred says in a letter sent to Rose and made public on Monday, Dec. 14, 2015, that baseball’s hits king hasn’t been completely honest about his gambling on baseball games. 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.

Pete Rose in 1989 addresses the media after accepting a lifetime suspension from Major League Baseball.

Manfred wrote in his decision, which was released by Major League Baseball on Monday, that consideration for Rose to be reinstated “falls well short” of the requirements needed.

Rose and Manfred met on September 24. Another significant confession from Rose, which he tried to deny at the first part of their meeting, was when he admitted that he still bet recreationally and legally (in Las Vegas) on horses and sports, including baseball.

Pete Rose is questioned by departing commissioner Peter Ueberroth (right) regarding reports he bet on baseball while manager of the Cincinnati Reds from 1984-89. It belonged to a man named Michael Bertolini, who used the notebook to track bets placed for Rose with mob-linked bookies in NY.

Pete Rose… claiming it’s time for the Hall of Fame to finally LET THE GUY IN!!! MLB wants to make their point very clear, you can not bet on baseball games and get away with it. Rose knew what the consequences were when he did it, he deserves it.

Manfred said the polygraph results did not enter into his ruling.

“Really, there is no other decision, ” former Commissioner Fay Vincent, whose office originally banned Rose from baseball in 1989, said to USA TODAY Sports.

On February 26, Rose’s attorneys advised Manfred of Rose’s request for reinstatement, saying that Rose had accepted responsibility for his mistakes and their consequences and that he was sorry for betting on baseball.

Rose, 74, collected a record 4,256 hits, breaking Ty Cobb’s record, and was a career.

A 17-time All-Star, Rose was the 1963 NL Rookie of the Year, 1973 MVP and 1975 World Series MVP. He lied about it for more than 20 years, and still wasn’t consistent with his story in his conversations with Manfred recently.