Charlie Hustle and Shoeless Joe Reinstated to Baseball

Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson received a posthumous reprieve from baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred last week, making both players eligible for enshrinement into the Baseball Hall of Fame after their careers were tarnished by gambling scandals.

Baseball aficionados had a clue that something was up when Manfred went to the White House for a meeting with President Donald Trump recently, and one of their topics of conversation was Pete Rose. 

The Trumpster apparently asked the Commish to consider reinstating Rose to baseball so he could be eligible for the Hall of Fame. Rose’s daughter, Fawn Rose, filed a petition for reinstatement on January 8^th of this year and met with Manfred. In February, Trump advocated for the lifetime ban to be lifted in a social media post, then met with Manfred in April to discuss the matter.

Rose first petitioned for reinstatement in 1997 when Bud Selig was commissioner. Selig didn’t meet with Rose until 2002 and did not rule on the issue before he retired in 2006. Manfred rejected a second petition by Rose in 2015, saying, “Mr. Rose has not presented credible evidence of a reconfigured life either by an honest acceptance by him of his wrongdoing, so clearly established by the Dowd Report, or by a rigorous, self-aware and sustained program of avoidance by him of the circumstances that led to his permanent eligibility in 1989.

Manfred hinted that he would likely make a decision about the all-time hits leader sooner rather than later. That decision came last week and Rose was indeed reinstated from his lifetime ban, some eight months after his death. Interestingly, he was not the only player to gain reinstatement as the legendary Shoeless Joe Jackson – banned by then Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis for his part in the Black Sox World Series scandal of 1919 – joined Rose and a few others including some of Jackson’s teammates.

An MLB statement released referred to it as a “policy decision.”

“This issue has never been formally addressed by Major League Baseball, but an application filed by the family of Pete Rose has made it incumbent upon the Office of the Commissioner to reach a policy decision on this unprecedented issue in the modern era as Mr. Rose is the first person banned after the tenure of Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis to die while still on the ineligible list. Commissioner Manfred has concluded that MLB’s policy shall be that permanent ineligibility ends upon the passing of the disciplined individual.”

In other words, their punishment ended with their deaths.

Rose had been exiled from the sport since 1989, after he was found by then-Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti to have been betting on his team’s games while he was manager of the Cincinnati Reds. Rose died Sept. 30, 2024, at age 83.

However, if you want to start a rather quick argument at your local corner tavern, simply bring up the name Pete Rose. There’s no doubt that the MLB “Hit King” had a tremendous playing career. The 17-time All-Star played 24 seasons – primarily with the Reds - and accumulated 4,256 hits. Legendary Detroit Tiger Ty Cobb is second with 4,189 hits, and they are the only two players to ever eclipse 4,000 hits.

Rose was a catalyst of the Big Red Machine dynasty and is the franchise’s all-time leader in games, plate appearances, runs, hits, singles, doubles, and walks.

Rose also was named National League Rookie of the Year in 1963 and the NL Most Valuable Player in 1973. He won three batting titles and three World Series titles — two with the Reds in 1975 and ’76 and one with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1980.

Rose batted .303 with an on-base percentage of .375, earning the nickname Charlie Hustle because he sprinted to first base even on a walk. He led the Senior Circuit in hits seven times, doubles five times, and in 1978 put together a 44-game hitting streak, second in baseball history to Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game streak.

But then there’s Major League Baseball’s pesky Rule 21. Since 1920, MLB Rule 21 has been hung on the front door, or on a wall, in every clubhouse at every level of professional baseball. Rule 21(d) states: “Any player, umpire, or Club or League official or employee, who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has a duty to perform, shall be declared permanently ineligible.”

Rose saw that sign 10,000 times.

Charlie Hustle bet on the Cincinnati Reds when he was the team’s player-manager in 1985 and ‘86, and the manager in 1987. An MLB investigation headed by lawyer John Dowd resulted in a 225-page report released in 1989 that named men that Rose allegedly placed bets with and cited evidence that Rose bet on Reds games. Rose knew what he was doing and did it anyway. After denying for nearly 15 years that he bet on baseball, Rose admitted it in his 2004 book, “My Prison Without Bars,” written with Rick Hill. Later, he would sign and sell baseballs with the inscription, “Sorry I bet on baseball.” The balls currently go for $200 to $400 apiece online.

Born and raised in Cincinnati, Rose began gambling as a youngster when his dad took him to a local racetrack. By the time he reached the big leagues, he bet on college and pro basketball and pro football in addition to the horses.

The late Al Luplow, a seven-year Major League player who hailed from Zilwaukee, once told me that Rose shouldn’t go into the Hall of Fame “because he tainted the game.” Rose’s own teammate, Hall of Famer Johnny Bench, also said that Rose doesn’t belong in Cooperstown, saying “go home and tell your kids that rules don’t matter.”

With the ban lifted, both Rose and Jackson may be considered for enshrinement into the Baseball Hall of Fame. It was the Hall’s rule that anyone banned from the game could not be considered for selection. Now both players could become members. Both would be elected posthumously of course and would have to get 16 of 20 votes from a committee that interestingly enough includes Rose’s former teammate Tony Perez. The committee will not meet until December of 2027 to consider candidates for induction in the summer of 2028.

Now that he is eligible, his case will be reviewed by the 16-member Classic Baseball Era Committee that evaluates players who made their greatest impact before 1980. Rose would qualify for consideration because his 24-year career began in 1963. When it convenes again to vote for the 2028 induction, Rose would need an “aye” from a 75% majority — 12 of the 16 members. However, that committee takes morals into consideration and Rose has a very sketchy past.

Sports betting is legal in 40 states, and the American Gaming Association estimates that its total economic impact is $328 billion a year and revenue from it exceeded $115 billion in 2024.

Yet restrictions still apply, again to protect the integrity of the game. Can a baseball player, coach or umpire bet on March Madness brackets, the Super Bowl or participate in a fantasy football league? Yes. Can they bet on anything — baseball or otherwise — through illegal or offshore bookmakers? No.

If Rose eventually does get the nod, the HOF enshrinement should be sponsored by Fan Duel.

Shoeless Joe Jackson Should Go In

Commissioner Rob Manfred also reinstated the eight members of the White Sox who were banned for throwing the 1919 World Series (ironically against the Reds). Shoeless Joe Jackson was among the eight. He died in 1951. His involvement in the scheme has long been disputed, and there are baseball historians who will say that justice is being served by allowing the Hall’s Historic Overview Committee to present him for nomination.

Manfred’s ruling removes 16 deceased players and one deceased owner from the banned list. Included are some additional 1919 White Sox players found to have taken money from gamblers to throw games, including pitcher Eddie Cicotte and third baseman George “Buck” Weaver.

Jackson, however, is a cultural icon. He played in 1,332 games, with a .356 career average, 54 homers, 792 RBI, 873 runs, and is in the top five all-time in career batting average. He was banned because he supposedly took money from gamblers. However, his play indicated that he screwed over those that gave him the money. He had 12 hits in the 1919 series and batted .375. His play was stellar.If he took money to “throw” the Series, he had a funny way of doing it.

The event, known as the Black Sox Scandal, happened before any of us were born, so we are guessing as to what actually took place Some suggest that maybe Jackson didn’t even know what he was supposed to be doing. Someone offered him $5,000 so he took it. Maybe he just needed the money.

Cooperstown Needs to be Revamped

There needs to be a special wing built in Cooperstown that’s called the “Hall of Shame.” Besides Rose, you can include the steroid gang of Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, Sammy Sosa, David Ortiz, and Mark McGwire.

And you can make room for former Reds owner Marge Schott in the Hall of Shame, too.

Baseball doesn’t forgive. Baseball doesn’t forget.