MLB reinstates Pete Rose and ‘Shoeless’ Joe Jackson after lifetime ban policy shift

Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred has announced that Pete Rose and “Shoeless” Joe Jackson are no longer on the league’s permanently ineligible list, as MLB now says that lifetime bans officially end when the person passes away.

The update came in a letter dated May 13, 2025, sent to attorney Jeffrey M. Lenkov. He had reached out to the league earlier this year, advocating on behalf of the Rose family. Manfred acknowledged that while he previously denied Rose’s reinstatement in 2015, “the only salient fact that has changed since that decision is that Mr. Rose has recently passed away.”

Major League Baseball issues policy decision on permanent ineligibility status after death: https://t.co/T4EA7Qyi8e pic.twitter.com/7Byd9syrV5

— MLB (@MLB) May 13, 2025

“The question of whether an individual should remain on the permanently ineligible list after his death has never been formally addressed by Major League Baseball,” Manfred wrote. “In my view, once an individual has passed away, the purposes of Rule 21 have been served.”

Rule 21, which deals with gambling offenses, is all about protecting the integrity of baseball and discouraging others from breaking the rules. But as Commissioner Manfred pointed out, those goals don’t make sense once someone has passed away: “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.”

In 1989, Rose struck a deal with then-Commissioner Bart Giamatti that landed him on MLB’s permanently ineligible list for betting on games while managing the Cincinnati Reds.

In the final years of his life, Rose made multiple efforts to be reinstated by Major League Baseball and become eligible for the Hall of Fame. He formally requested reinstatement in both 2015 and 2020, but the league turned him down each time. After his death, however, the conversation around reinstating Rose picked up again, especially after President Donald Trump announced he would issue a pardon for the legendary hitter.

As for “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, his ban dates back to the fallout from the 1919 Black Sox Scandal. He’s been off-limits for over 100 years, thanks to Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis.

Manfred clarified that Rose’s ban was the result of a negotiated settlement. “My decision today is today is consistent with Commissioner Giamatti’s expectations of that agreement,” he wrote, referencing Giamatti’s 1989 comments that Hall of Fame eligibility was “entirely” the responsibility of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

Giamatti had stated at the time, “I have never, as League President or Commissioner, and would never, in this or any other instance, express an opinion about the eligibility, viability or appropriateness of any candidate for the Hall of Fame.”

The ruling also seems to apply retroactively to Joe Jackson, who passed away in 1951. Even though he wasn’t mentioned by name in the letter, the reasoning behind the decision strongly suggests that his status has been updated as well.

Jackson had been placed on the permanently ineligible list in 1921, but the commissioner’s letter noted that Jackson “was afforded the opportunity to be voted upon in 1936 and again in 1946,” before the Hall of Fame instituted its own restrictions.

The policy shift doesn’t automatically mean Rose or Jackson will make it into the Hall of Fame, but it does clear a major hurdle ie. eligibility. It’s up to the Hall of Fame’s selection committees and voters to decide their fate.

Featured image: Cincinnati Reds via WikiCommons / Charles M. Conlon via WikiCommons

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