MLB Reinstates Pete Rose, ‘Shoeless’ Joe Jackson, Eligible for Hall of Fame

One of the black marks in Major League Baseball has finally been lifted as in a historic decision, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred removed Pete Rose, ‘Shoeless’ Joe Jackson, and other deceased players from the permanently ineligible list. In total, 16 players and one owner have been removed from the banned list, which includes members of the 1919 “Black Sox”, who intentionally lost the World Series that year in a gambling operation. Let’s take a deeper dive into this decision and what it means going forward.

MLB Reinstates Pete Rose, Joe Jackson & Others for MLB Hall of Fame

The MLB Hall of Fame in Cooperstown is a collection of the best to ever play or be part of the sport, but for years has not housed some of the top players for specific reasons. The fixing of the 1919 World Series saw eight players banned from the sport by baseball’s first commissioner Kennesaw Mountain Landis, and was the subject of the film ‘Eight Men Out’.

In Rose’s case, he was banned by MLB Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti in Aug. 1989 after an investigation determined Rose bet on games as the manager of the Cincinnati Reds. However, in a letter written by Manfred to attorney Jeffrey M. Lenkov, who was petitioning for Rose’s Hall of Fame vote, he decided to remove people from the ineligible list posthumously.

“Obviously, a person no longer with us cannot represent a threat to the integrity of the game. 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 permanent ineligibility ends upon the passing of the disciplined individual, and Mr. Rose will be removed from the permanently ineligible list.”

The earliest any of these now-eligible people can be enshrined in Cooperstown will be in 2028, as per the rules set in place. It will be interesting to see how Hall of Fame voters view these incoming 18 potential members as they could now be heading into MLB immortality.