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Pete Rose asked Rob Manfred to lift his lifetime ban

By Stanford Crissey

Aug 4, 2014; Washington, DC, USA; General view of 60th anniversary baseball of the Baltimore Orioles during batting practice prior to a game against Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 4, 2014; Washington, DC, USA; General view of 60th anniversary baseball of the Baltimore Orioles during batting practice prior to a game against Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports /
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Pete Rose came to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred to ask to be reinstated.

Baseball’s all-time hit leader Pete Rose wants back in the game, and came directly to new commissioner Rob Manfred to ask to be reinstated, according to CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman.

“I do have a formal request from Pete. I will be in communications with his representatives,” Manfred said. “I’m prepared to deal with that request on its merits.”

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Rose was famously banned from baseball in 1989 for gambling on the sport while managing the Cincinnati Reds. Manfred said he would like to take time to review the paperwork from the original 1989 investigation by then-commissioner Bart Giamatti and investigator John Dowd.

With the appointment of a new commissioner, Rose’s situation was bound to become a focal point. Rose himself seems to see the opportunity to get back into the game.

Manfred, for his part, has talked about the Rose issue several times, but has not betrayed his own feelings on the matter. Manfed said back in February that Rose’s potential re-instatement was a “conversation [he was] willing to have.”

2015 is the first year as commissioner for Manfred, during which he has been very available publicly, and we’re beginning to get a handle on his views on many issues.

Rose, a Reds and Phillies legend, is MLB’s all-time hits leader with 4,256. He also holds the all-time marks for games played (3,562), at-bats (14,053), and outs (10,328), and is the only player in major league history to play more than 500 games at five different positions.

For years, Rose denied that he had ever bet on baseball, but confessed in 2004. The Hall of Fame has a clause prohibiting anyone on the ineligible list from being considered. Rose has officially applied for reinstatement four times, but has been denied each time. There have been instances of people being reinstated from the banned list, but none since 1922; players such as Shoeless Joe Jackson have remained on the list, despite the best efforts of Field of Dreams.

It will be interesting to see what, if anything, happens with Rose under the new MLB administration. Previous commissioner Bud Selig was a rock who would not budge when it came to Rose, but we have yet to see Manfred’s views on the issue. He may be more lenient than his predecessor; or Rose may find himself making his case to the next commissioner.

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