Major League Baseball legend Pete Rose died Monday at the age of 83.
First reported by TMZ, the news immediately kickstarted a conversation around Rose’s “lifetime ban” from baseball. That ban, put in place by Bart Giamatti following an investigation that showed the then-Cincinnati Reds manager bet on baseball games, prevented him from being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame despite being MLB’s all-time leader in hits.
Rose tried unsuccessfully to have the ban lifted at various times in the years that followed, but no commissioner approved it. Current MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in 2015 that the 17-time All-Star and three-time World Series champion wasn’t contrite about his actions and did not have “a mature understanding of his wrongful conduct” and the damage he’d caused to baseball’s reputation.
Rose’s banishment has long been referred to as a “lifetime ban,” leading to semantical speculation Monday evening that it was moot. If the ban was for the duration of Rose’s lifetime, and his lifetime was now over, it stands to reason that he could potentially enter Cooperstown now, right?
Even MLB insider Jon Heyman seemed convinced.
“Pete should go into the Hall of Fame,” he wrote on X. “As a great baseball person reminded me, he was given a lifetime suspension. So he has satisfied the terms of his ban.”
Pete should go into the Hall of Fame. As a great baseball person reminded me, he was given a lifetime suspension. So he has satisfied the terms of his ban. https://t.co/HZ4hjwkj9O
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) October 1, 2024
However, there’s a problem with this line of thinking.
See, Rose never received a “lifetime ban.” That’s merely a turn of phrase that has long been applied to the situation. Specifically, Rose was “declared permanently ineligible” by Giammati and MLB. Rose remains on the restricted list even now that he is deceased.
That’s not to say that the argument over whether or not Rose should get a spot in the Hall of Fame isn’t worth having, especially as MLB drapes itself in sports betting advertising. Not to mention that the Hall of Fame isn’t beholden to MLB and could change its own rules to allow Rose in. But the “lifetime ban” argument is dead on arrival.
It’s also worth noting that gambling while playing baseball might not have been the worst thing Rose ever did. Something to remember as this conversation heats up.
