Cubs Legend Andre Dawson Hopeful Pete Rose Will Get into Hall of Fame

It seems everyone has an opinion now that Pete Rose has a chance to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

On Tuesday, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred ruled that any player on the permanently ineligible list would be removed from the list after their death. That included Rose, along with close to 20 other players.

After Rose was banned from baseball in 1989 for gambling on the game, he tried the reinstatement process three times but failed. He died last year at 83 years old.

The Baseball Hall of Fame can now consider him for induction. It’s not clear in what way he will be considered, as he was never on the Baseball Writers Association of America’s ballot due to the ban.

But it also led to an inevitable question — should Rose be inducted into the Hall of Fame?

What Cubs Legend Andre Dawson Said About Pete Rose

The Athletic (subscription required) spoke to a dozen Hall of Famers about whether Rose should be inducted or not. Many of them were contemporaries of Rose.

Chicago Cubs slugger Andre Dawson was among those who weighed in.

Dawson, now 70 years old, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2010 after he was voted in during his ninth year of eligibility.

Dawson played 21 years in Major League Baseball with the Montreal Expos, the Cubs, the Boston Red Sox and the Florida Marlins. He finished with a career slash of .279/.323/.482 with 438 home runs and 1,591 RBI.

‘The Hawk’ played six seasons for Chicago, where he slashed .285/.327/.507 with 174 home runs and 587 RBI and turned into a fan favorite.

He was named a National League MVP, the NL rookie of the year, an eight-time NL All-Star, a home run derby champion, an eight-time NL Gold Glove winner and a four-time NL Silver Slugger.

Dawson and Rose faced each other plenty of times since both were in the National League. He said a Rose induction would be “long overdue.” He believes it should happen as soon as possible.

He also related a story about seeing Rose the day before he died.

“We were in Nashville, and the Big Red Machine was there,” Dawson said. “And he was supposed to stay over the next day to do a private signing, but he wasn’t feeling that well. And he flew back home that night to Vegas. And unfortunately, it was the next day (that he died).”

Rose admitted that he gambled on baseball late in his life.  

Rose finished his professional career with 4,256 hits, the most of any MLB player. He played 24 years, was a National League MVP, won NL rookie of the year, made the NL All-Star team 17 times, won three World Series rings, two Gold Gloves, a Silver Slugger, three NL batting title, the Roberto Clemente award and a World Series MVP.