A miniture Pete Rose statue sits at a table George Foster at Great American Ball Park during the Cincinnati Red’s Pete Rose night at the ballpark on Wednesday, May 14, 2025 in Cincinnati. Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

MLB Insider Calls it a 'Long Shot' For Pete Rose to Get Elected to Baseball Hall of Fame

Originally posted on Fastball on SI | By Brady Farkas | Last updated May 18, 2025 9:00 AM ET

Earlier this week, Major League Baseball made a monumental decision, taking Pete Rose and the members of the 1919 Chicago White Sox off the lifetime ban list.

Rose, who was banned for life because of gambling on baseball, is now eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2027. Shoeless Joe Jackson, who was banned with the 1919 White Sox, is also eligible.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, Rose will still be a "long shot" to get into Cooperstown, and he cited players from the PED Era (Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez) as examples of players who haven't gotten in despite being eligible.

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?

Sunday Notebook: Sibling rivalry: New Texas Rangers hitting coach Bret Boone faces little brother Aaron's N.Y. Yankees this week https://t.co/g23TouTO15
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) May 18, 2025

Rose is of the greatest players to ever play the game. He spent 24 years in the big leagues with the Reds, Montreal Expos and Phillies. He is baseball's all-time hit leader at 4,256 hits. He also leads baseball in games played, plate appearances and at-bats.

Nicknamed "Charlie Hustle" for the way in which he played, Rose was a lifetime .303 hitter who carried a .375 on-base percentage. All in all, he was a 17-time All-Star, a two-time Gold Glover, an MVP, a World Series MVP, a Rookie of the Year, a three-time World Series champion and a three-time batting champion. He also won a Silver Slugger Award. His whole saga, including his career, banishment and Hall of Fame discourse, has been chronicled here.

This article first appeared on Fastball on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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