Fansided

MLB to allow Pete Rose to attend All-Star Game festivities

By CM Towle

Apr 14, 2014; Cincinnati, OH, USA; A Cincinnati Reds fan holds up a sign for Pete Rose (not pictured) birthday during the second inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 14, 2014; Cincinnati, OH, USA; A Cincinnati Reds fan holds up a sign for Pete Rose (not pictured) birthday during the second inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports /
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The MLB will allow Pete Rose to attend the All-Star Game festivities to be held in Cincinnati this year.

Next: MLB Power Rankings: 30 Best SP of All-Time

Even though Pete Rose hasn’t yet been reinstated, the MLB has decided to let him participate in the All-Star festivities to be held in Cincinnati this year, according to a story by SBN. Rose has actually asked formally for reinstatement, and the new commissioner Rob Manfred has said that he will at least listen. It’s not all that surprising that the MLB is choosing to bend their own rules a little bit on this one. Rose is adored in his hometown of Cincinnati and it was with the Reds that Rose put together much of his championship career.

It’s also not the first time that the league has bent the rules to give Rose a chance to participate in certain festivities. He also took part in the 2013 ceremonies celebrating the 1975 and 1976 Reds championship teams. In 1999, he was allowed to be part of the All-Century Team.

As most fans of baseball know, Pete Rose was banned from the MLB in 1989 for gambling on games, specifically games played by his club while he was the manager. Rose agreed to the ban, but in 1997, he applied for reinstatement and eventually met with then-commissioner Bud Selig in 2002 about reinstatement. However, Selig never ruled on the matter. Rose then applied again when Manfred took over in January of 2015.

Manfred has had plenty to say about the situation and no doubt he intends to look into the matter closely. For the All-Star Game, he’s already spoken with Reds owner Bob Castellini, but there are no specifics on what type of activities Rose will be participating in.  On the reinstatement, Manfred said that league staff have gathered volumes and volumes of information pertaining to the original investigation. He said they’re in the process of being organized so that he can review them.

Manfred made one comment on the comparisons of steroids and gambling, saying that the two are very different issues and baseball has had rules in place for gambling for a long time. The main reason he feels gambling is a very serious offense is that it hugely undermines the integrity of the sport if a team isn’t doing their utmost to win.

The moment of a ruling, if it ever comes, is sure to be a contentious one with plenty of fans on both sides of the issue.

Next: MLB Power Rankings: 30 Best OF of All-Time

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