Pete Rose a 'Longshot' to Be Inducted Into National Baseball Hall of Fame, Says Insider

Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred made the landmark decision to reinstate Pete Rose and 16 other deceased individuals from the league's permanently ineligible list last week.

The decision, which came less than a year after Rose's death, made him eligible for the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

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"Obviously, a person no longer with us cannot represent a threat to the integrity of the game," Manfred wrote in a letter regarding his decision. "Moreover, it is hard to conceive of a penalty that has more deterrent effect than one that lasts a lifetime with no reprieve.

"Therefore, I have concluded that permanent ineligibility ends upon the passing of the disciplined individual, and Mr. Rose will be removed from the permanently ineligible list."

Rose was officially banned in 1989 after an investigation revealed that he had been betting on games, including ones involving the team he managed, the Cincinnati Reds.

Two years later, before Rose's first year of Hall of Fame eligibility, the Hall's board ruled that any player on the permanently ineligible list would not be eligible for the Hall of Fame.

Now, starting in 2027, Rose will be eligible to be voted into Cooperstown. The man with more hits than anyone in MLB history should be considered a sure thing, right?

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USA Today's Bob Nightengale says not so fast.

"Contrary to popular belief, it's a long shot that Pete Rose will be elected into the Hall of Fame when he's first eligible in 2027," Nightengale wrote.

"You don't have to look back any further than the ballot two years ago when Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens didn't even receive four of the required 12 votes needed by the 16-person committee in December 2022.

"Yet, despite never being suspended, fined or testing positive for PED use, they didn't come close to election.

"Do you really think that Rose, who committed baseball's cardinal sin of gambling and lied about it for 15 years, will be suddenly forgiven by the executives, Hall of Fame players, writers and historians on the committee when they quickly dismissed baseball's all-time home run king and a seven-time Cy Young winner?"

Nightengale believes Rose being elected would open a can of worms regarding those who were caught cheating the game.

"The voters realize that if Rose is let into Cooperstown, there will be no compelling reason to keep out Bonds, Clemens and Sammy Sosa, or even Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez, who were suspended for steroid use. If you can allow managers who bet on baseball and players (Shoeless Joe Jackson) who took money from mobsters to throw games, what's a little PED use?

"Remember, the Hall of Fame instructs voters to base their choices upon the player's record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship and contribution to the team(s) on which the player played.'"

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