Cincinnati Reds legend and MLB hit king Pete Rose is among deceased players removed Tuesday by commissioner Rob Manfred from its permanently ineligible list. Rose received a permanent ban in 1989 for gambling on baseball.
“Obviously, a person no longer with us cannot represent a threat to the integrity of the game,” Manfred wrote in a letter to attorney Jeffrey M. Lenkov, who petitioned for Rose’s removal from the list Jan. 8, per ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr. “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.”
So when is Rose eligible for the National Baseball Hall of Fame? Here’s everything to know.
When is Pete Rose eligible for the Hall of Fame?
The Cincinnati native and Reds legend gains immediate eligibility for the Hall of Fame. But there is no immediate ballot for him to be added.
Because of a 1991 ruling, it is too late for the Baseball Writers Association of America to add him to its ballot.
“Voting rules require that candidates on the BBWAA ballot must have played in the Major Leagues no more than 15 years prior to each election,” a Hall of Fame official shared with Enquirer Reds reporter Gordon Wittenmyer in March. “Since Rose’s candidacy with the BBWAA has expired, if he were to be removed from MLB’s permanently ineligible list, he would become eligible for consideration by the Hall of Fame’s Era Committee process.”
There are three Era Committee (or what used to be called the veteran’s committee) buckets of candidates, considered on a rotating basis annually:
Rose, who was a Rookie of the Year in 1963 and MVP in 1973, would qualify for the Classic Baseball Era ballot, barring a reversal of precedent in assigning players to ballots (Rose played through 1986).
Because that committee was the most recent to convene (electing Dave Parker and Dick Allen), it won’t meet again until December 2027 to consider candidates for induction in the summer of 2028.
It takes 12 of the 16 members of one of the Era Committees to list a candidate on his or her ballot for the candidate to be elected.
So mark the calendar for the Cooperstown road trip: Aug. 6, 2028.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: When can Pete Rose go into the Baseball Hall of Fame? The moment is still years away
Reporting by David Wysong and Gordon Wittenmyer, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
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