President Donald Trump has stated he would like to pardon baseball's all-time hit leader, Pete Rose, more than three decades after his lifetime suspension from Major League Baseball for betting on the sport.
Rose, who passed away on September 30, 2024, aged 83, was permanently banned in 1989 following an investigation into allegations that he had placed wagers on baseball games, including those in which his team, the Cincinnati Reds, participated while he was manager.
Trump's announcement, made through social media, reopens the old controversy about Rose's not being included in baseball's Hall of Fame and his standing in the sport's history.
President Trump took to Truth Social to say, "Now he is dead, will never experience the thrill of being selected, even though he was a FAR BETTER PLAYER than most of those who made it, and can only be named posthumously. WHAT A SHAME!"
Rose holds the record for most hits, with 4,256; most games played at 3,562; most at-bats at 14,053; and most singles at 3,215.
During his 24-year career, he was a three-time World Series champion, a 17-time MLB All-Star, and a three-time National League batting champion.
Trump failed to mention which controversy he would pardon, but Rose's most pressing legal problems arose from his 1990 conviction on two federal charges of submitting false income tax returns, for which he spent five months in the Federal Prison Camp in Marion, Illinois, between August 1990 and January 1991.
Rose Supporters Press Years-Long Campaign
Rose's betting scandal remains one of the most notorious in baseball history.
Defending himself against the allegations for years, he finally admitted in 2003 to betting on games when managing the Reds.
Rose always maintained that he never bet against his team. However, this admission did not do much to alter MLB officials or Hall of Fame voters, as the sport maintained its strict policy against gambling offenses.
Over the years, baseball and sports media personalities have consistently argued to restore Rose, referencing the fact that his contributions more than justified the offenses he committed. There are also those inside the MLB organization who believe his lifetime expulsion was a form of maintaining integrity in baseball. The league repeatedly rejected reinstatement requests for Rose, and the Hall of Fame has stuck by its stance not to induct those expelled.
Whether a presidential pardon would impact Rose's position in MLB or the Hall of Fame remains to be seen. Since MLB discreetly disciplined Rose, a presidential pardon would not automatically return him to the league or qualify him for the Hall of Fame.
But it could reopen in the baseball universe the question of whether Rose should finally be celebrated for what he did in the game. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has already acknowledged that he's weighing a petition to remove Rose from the Hall of Fame ineligible list.
The suggestion has its detractors. Some argue that accepting Rose into the Hall of Fame would undermine the league's strict anti-gambling policy, especially at a time when sports gambling is becoming increasingly integral to professional sports.
Major League Baseball even upheld its decision to fire MLB umpire Pat Hoberg last month after he was found guilty of violating the league’s sports betting policy by making 417 wagers on his friend’s betting account between 2020 and 2024.
