On Tuesday, Major League Baseball announced that it had removed Pete Rose from its permanently ineligible list. The news led to much speculation that the all-time hit king would finally be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame despite the gambling controversy that led to his lifetime ban.
New York Mets play-by-play announcer Gary Cohen seems to think there might be other considerations regarding Rose’s worthiness.
A discussion around Rose occurred during Wednesday’s SNY broadcast of the Mets’ game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. While there’s no doubt that “Charlie Hustle’s” stats are HOF-worthy, Cohen alluded to some off-the-field concerns around his character that extend far beyond betting on baseball.
“He was the face of baseball, ‘Charlie Hustle,'” said Cohen. “But, you know, there are also other black marks against Rose’s name that have come up in more recent years since he was permanently made ineligible, that had nothing to do with gambling. So it’s gonna be a tough case for the committee to finally decide on that.”
Gary Cohen weighs in on Pete Rose:
“He was the face of baseball, ‘Charlie Hustle.’ But, you know, there are also other black marks against Rose’s name that have come up in more recent years, since he was permanently made ineligible, that had nothing to do with gambling.” pic.twitter.com/mMH3sN4ktc
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 14, 2025
Cohen is presumably referring to a sworn statement made by a woman who claimed Rose engaged in a sexual relationship with her when she was a minor and he was in his mid-30s. Rose later acknowledged the relationship but said he did not know that the girl, who was between 14 and 15 years old, was a minor, claiming that he thought she was 16, which was the age of consent in Ohio at the time. When asked about it in 2022, Rose told a female reporter, “It was 55 years ago, babe.”
Rose passed away this past September at the age of 83. In February, President Donald Trump announced he would posthumously pardon Rose (it was unclear for what). In April, Trump and MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred met and discussed Rose’s posthumous petition for reinstatement. According to ESPN, Manfred called Trump to inform him about Tuesday’s ruling.
Supposing the move was made to appease Trump, who was found liable for sexual abuse in a civil suit and has been accused of sexual assault by various women. In that case, it stands to reason that MLB doesn’t see the allegations against Rose as preventative of his nomination. However, his eventual HOF nomination is still in the hands of HOF’s Veterans Committee, which next votes in December 2027. Not everyone is convinced that Rose will get in, regardless of what’s considered.
