MLB Commissioner Upholds Pete Rose’s Lifetime Ban

So even when Rose had the chance to sit down with the commissioner and sell himself – at a time in which he should be as flawless and charming and endearing as possible – he was still lying about whether he bet on baseball. Rose met with Manfred last September in NY, at the time admitting that he’s still legally betting on baseball.

Manfred said in his decision that he requested a “comprehensive review” of Rose’s situation by Major League Baseball staff, including material not available when the ban was put in place. Rose continues to bet on sports including baseball, and it would be an “unacceptable risk” to let him back into the game, Manfred said. Rose hasn’t honestly accepted his wrongdoing, gambling on baseball as a manager and a player in the late 1980s.

“Rose has not presented credible evidence of a reconfigured life”, Manfred wrote.

The centerpiece of Manfred’s decision was stated, “Most important, whatever a “reconfigured life” may include, in this case, it must begin with a complete rejection of the practices and habits that comprised his violations of Rule 21″.

Rose’s representatives were preparing a statement to be issued later Monday.

Pete Rose thought a different commissioner might yield a different result, but he got the bad news it does not matter to Major League Baseball.

Pete Rose attorney Ray Genco expressed disappointment at the ruling and said Rose will address the media Tuesday at 11 a.m. Pacific Time (2 p.m. Eastern Time).

However, according to Manfred’s three-page written decision, he didn’t have the evidence to support changing the status quo.

Genco went on: “Pete’s fall from grace is without parallel”. Rose’s camp said in their rebuttal statement that he was “constantly working to remain disciplined, compassionate and grateful”.

The Hall of Fame’s board of directors voted in 1991 to ban those on the permanently ineligible list from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America ballot.

Rose, 74, had denied for almost 15 years that he had bet on baseball, the game’s cardinal sin since 1919 when members of the Chicago White Sox conspired to throw the World Series.

Rose hoped to have his ban reconsidered and was told he would have a decision by the end of the year.

The second report was a polygraph test taken on August 5 by a consultant retained by Rose’s representatives. The report, though, offered a conclusion of “no opinion” because of “technical reasons that were not Mr. Rose’s responsibility”. The materials also included a copy of a notebook that apparently shows records of bets placed in 1986 by a man named Michael Bertolini, who allegedly placed bets on behalf of Rose. Ever since charges first were leveled, part of Rose’s defense has been that he never bet on the Reds to lose. There’s a story behind such attitudes toward betting in baseball: the 1919 Black Sox scandal that almost brought down the entire sport; the damaging effect it has on fan interest; the introduction of unsavory characters and a criminal element to a $9 billion business.