MLB commissioner Rob Manfred sent shockwaves through the baseball world by removing Pete Rose, AKA the Hit King, from the league's permanently ineligible list. In other words, one of the greatest players to ever step on the diamond will be recognized as such after getting reinstated. Despite his checkered past, the Hall of Fame awaits "Charlie Hustle."
Fans will be decidedly mixed about Manfred opening up the possibility of Rose and some of the game's deceased legends being enshrined in Cooperstown. But he also opened a can of worms that could (or should) have an undeniable ripple effect on the Hall's selection process moving forward. Because if we're going to ease up on players with gambling-related blemishes on their résumés (not to mention the many, many other missteps Rose made over the years), the argument for keeping out PED users weakens.
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Rob Manfred reinstating Pete Rose, 'Shoeless' Joe Jackson opens the door for PED users' Hall of Fame case
Sure, you can argue sports betting is virtually legal nationwide nowadays, so Rose and "Shoeless" Joe Jackson did nothing wrong. They were just ahead of their time to do something now universally accessible at the tip of our fingers. Yet, like Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and Álex Rodríguez, they cheated a sport founded on tradition and respect.
Jackson fixed the 1919 World Series. You know, that thing everybody competes for, devoting countless years, months, days, hours and minutes of blood, sweat and tears for a chance to win. He and seven Chicago White Sox teammates tried to throw the Fall Classic.
However, there's no putting the genie in the bottle once it's out. Manfred will now have to explain why Rose and Jackson's bans are lifted while the screening committee ignores Bonds, McGwire and Co. It's a two-way street; baseball's head honcho should've looked both ways before he crossed.
Rose's status as MLB's all-time hits leader won't fade anytime soon. Nonetheless, no one struck more fear into opposing pitchers when they stepped into the batter's box than Bonds, whose home run record remains safely intact. In a vacuum, both were involved in scandals that will forever tarnish their reputation, though one is getting treated differently.