Could there be a time in the future that former Cincinnati Reds legend Pete Rose would be allowed in the Hall of Fame? It’s possible as he continues to petition to have his Hall of Fame ban overturned.
Yahoo Sport’s Tim Brown is reporting that Pete Rose has asked Baseball Hall of Fame officials to reconsider the bylaw that won’t allow him to be in the Hall. He even sent a seven-page letter to HOF President Jeff Idelson that argues for his possible inclusion on future ballots. Yahoo Sports was able to obtain the letter and saw exactly what Pete Rose was talking about. In his letter to the HOF, the terms of Rose’s lifetime ban does not mention anything about Pete Rose from being banned from the Hall of Fame. He thinks that the Hall of Fame is purposely not putting Rose on ballots.
Pete Rose has the most hits in baseball history and many people have said that Pete Rose should have been in the Hall of Fame a long time ago, but has been banned for life after it was discovered he was gambling and betting on his team. This latest attempt came nine months after current MLB commissioner Rob Manfred denied his bid to have the lifetime ban lifted.
The letter was written and signed by his longtime attorney, Raymond Genco, and former ACLU lawyer Mark Rosenbaum. The letter happens to be the first attempt in the first step in Rose’s push to get his ban lifted. There seems not to be a lawsuit on the hands of MLB shortly. However, Rose feels a sense of urgency and thinks that the Baseball Writers Association is his best shot at finally getting into the Hall.
They also go ahead and mention the case of Shoeless Joe Jackson, who was banned for life in 1921 and would appear on later Hall of Fame ballots. I don’t think this will work, and unfortunately, I don’t think Rose will get into the Hall of Fame until he passes away. I don’t feel he will get in with the current voters as they are still thinking of the older rules.
It will be interesting to see if Rose can pull this off and could get into Hall of Fame.