Rob Manfred says he discussed Pete Rose's status with Donald Trump and will rule on reinstatement

NEW YORK – Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said helium discussed Pete Rose with President Donald Trump astatine a gathering 2 weeks agone and helium plans to regularisation connected a petition to extremity the sport's imperishable ban of the vocation hits leader, who died successful September.

Speaking Monday astatine a gathering of the Associated Press Sports Editors, Manfred said helium and Trump person discussed respective issues, including Manfred's concerns implicit however Trump's migration policies could interaction players from Cuba, Venezuela and different overseas countries.

Manfred is considering a petition to person Rose posthumously removed from MLB's permanently ineligible list. The petition was filed successful January by Jeffrey Lenkov, a Southern California lawyer who represented Rose anterior to the 17-time All-Star's death astatine property 83.

“I met with President Trump 2 weeks ago, I conjecture now, and 1 of the topics was Pete Rose, but I’m not going beyond that," Manfred said. "He’s said what helium said publicly, I’m not going beyond that successful presumption of what the backmost and distant was.”

Trump posted connected societal media Feb. 28 that helium plans to contented “a implicit PARDON of Pete Rose.” Trump posted connected Truth Social that Rose “shouldn’t person been gambling connected baseball, but lone stake connected HIS TEAM WINNING.” It's unclear what a statesmanlike pardon mightiness see — Trump did not specifically notation a taxation lawsuit successful which Rose pleaded blameworthy successful 1990 to 2 counts of filing mendacious taxation returns and served a five-month situation sentence.

The president said helium would motion a pardon for Rose “over the adjacent fewer weeks" but has not addressed the substance since.

Rose had 4,256 hits and besides holds records for games (3,562) and sheet appearances (15,890). He was the 1973 National League MVP and played connected 3 World Series winners.

An probe for MLB by lawyer John M. Dowd recovered Rose placed galore bets connected the Cincinnati Reds to triumph from 1985-87 portion playing for and managing the team. Rose agreed with MLB connected a imperishable prohibition successful 1989.

Lenkov is seeking Rose's reinstatement truthful that helium tin beryllium considered for the Hall of Fame. Under a regularisation adopted by the Hall’s committee of directors successful 1991, anyone connected the permanently ineligible database can’t beryllium considered for election to the Hall. Rose applied for reinstatement successful 1997 and met with Commissioner Bud Selig successful November 2002, but Selig ne'er ruled connected Rose’s request. Manfred successful 2015 denied Rose’s exertion for reinstatement.

Manfred said reinstating Rose present was “a small much analyzable than it mightiness look connected the outside" and did not perpetrate to a timeline but that “I privation to get it done promptly arsenic soon arsenic we get the enactment done.”

“I’m not going to springiness this the pouch veto," helium said. "I volition successful information contented a ruling.”

Rose's reinstatement doesn't mean helium would automatically look connected a Hall of Fame ballot. He would archetypal person to beryllium nominated by the Hall's Historical Overview Committee, which is picked by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America and approved by the Hall's board. Manfred is an ex-officio subordinate of that committee and says helium has been successful regular interaction with president Jane Forbes Clark.

“I mean, judge me, a batch of Hall of Fame dialog connected this one," Manfred said.

If reinstated, Rose perchance would beryllium eligible for information to beryllium placed connected a ballot to beryllium considered by the 16-member Classic Baseball Era committee successful December 2027.

Manfred added helium doesn't deliberation baseball's existent ties to ineligible sports betting should colour views connected Rose's case.

“There is and ever has been a wide demarcation betwixt what Rob Manfred, mean citizen, tin bash connected the 1 hand, and what idiosyncratic who has the privilege to play oregon enactment successful Major League Baseball tin bash connected the different successful respect to gambling," helium said. "The information that the instrumentality changed, and we merchantability information and/or sponsorships, which is fundamentally each we do, to sports betting enterprises, I don’t deliberation changes that. It’s a privilege to play Major League Baseball. As with each privilege, determination comes responsibilities. One of those responsibilities is that they not stake connected the game.”

Manfred did not spell into details connected his treatment with Trump implicit foreign-born players different than to accidental helium expressed worry.

"Given the fig of foreign-born players we have, we're ever acrophobic astir ingress and egress," Manfred said. "We person had dialog with the medication astir this topic. And, you know, they're precise funny successful sports. They recognize the unsocial request to beryllium capable to spell backmost and forth, and I'm going to permission it astatine that.”

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