Baseball commish reviews bid from Pete Rose's family to remove him from Hall of Fame ineligible list

Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred is reviewing a petition filed by Pete Rose’s family in January to have the late baseball legend removed from the league’s ineligible list.

According to a report from ESPN, attorney Jeffrey Lenkov, who represented Rose before his death, confirmed he filed the petition for reinstatement after meeting with Manfred and MLB spokesman Pat Courtney in December alongside Rose’s daughter, Fawn.

"The commissioner was respectful, gracious, and actively participated in productive discussions regarding removing Rose from the ineligible list," Lenkov said regarding the meeting at the commissioner’s office. Lenkov stated the goal of the petition is to have Rose removed posthumously from MLB’s banned list to allow for potential induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, something that had “long been his desire.”

Sources confirmed to ESPN that Manfred met with Rose’s daughter and Lenkov and is now considering reviewing the petition. Manfred previously denied Rose’s reinstatement in 2015 after a meeting with the former player.

This development follows President Donald Trump’s recent announcement that he intends to pardon Rose. Trump also criticized the fact that he had been excluded from the Baseball Hall of Fame.

"Over the next few weeks I will be signing a complete pardon of Pete Rose, who shouldn't have been gambling on baseball, but only bet on his team winning," Trump posted on Truth Social. "He never betted against himself, or the other team. He had the most hits, by far, in baseball history, and won more games than anyone in history." 

It is unclear what exactly Rose would be pardoned for, though the player served five months in prison after being found guilty of tax evasion in 1990.

Lenkov said he did not actively seek the White House’s assistance in the reinstatement of Rose but said, “When he gets passionate about an issue, POTUS stands behind it. He was passionate about Pete. Pete would have appreciated the president's commitment to him."

“It is now time to turn the page on Pete Rose's legacy in baseball and for the Hall of Fame to honor him,” Lenkov explained. “Whether you are a fan or not of Pete Rose, we are at our best a nation of second chances, a nation of giving people second opportunities. We don't write off people,” 

Rose, a three-time World Series champion and baseball’s all-time leader in hits, games played, at-bats, and singles, was banned from the sport in 1989 for gambling on games while managing the Cincinnati Reds. The Baseball Hall of Fame, located in Cooperstown, New York, implemented a rule in 1991 barring any player ruled ineligible by MLB from appearing on the Hall of Fame ballot, a move many dubbed the "Pete Rose Rule."

Lenkov noted that the reinstatement would not guarantee Rose’s induction but would give baseball writers the ability to vote on his candidacy.

"Legally, the lifetime ban is over. His lifetime is over," Lenkov said. "The Hall of Fame has a rule that if you are on the ineligible list, you can't be considered. If he is taken off that list, there's still no guarantee he gets in. It's a unique situation because he's never been on a Hall of Fame ballot.”

"But if he gets in, it'll be a wonderful thing,” he added. “Imagine the outpouring of emotion to go to the Hall of Fame when he's formally inducted. And why not? As a lawyer and as an American, I believe in second chances. Pete Rose has had as long a prison sentence as any person could have ever imagined. Now is the time for Rose to get his second chance."