Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred announced Tuesday that several deceased former players are reinstated and eligible to be in the Hall of Fame, including former Reds star Pete Rose and White Sox player “Shoeless” Joe Jackson.
The decision came eight months after Rose’s death in September at 83. Jackson died in 1951.
Rose, nicknamed “Charlie Hustle,” is the top hitter in MLB history with 4,256 hits and a batting average of 303.
PETE ROSE RESUME
• Career .303 AVG
• 4256 career Hits
• 44 GM Hit Streak
• 17x All-Star
• 3x Batting Title
• 3x World Series Champpic.twitter.com/XIsiD2byQH— ᗪOᑎKEYᕼᗩᑕK™ (@DonkeyHack) August 17, 2023
“Rose agreed to a permanent ban on Aug. 23, 1989, following an investigation commissioned by Major League Baseball concluded Rose repeatedly bet on the Reds as a player and manager of the team from 1985-87, a violation of a long-standing MLB rule,” the Associated Press reported.
Jackson was accused of accepting $5,000 to throw the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds.
However, his supporters point out, though he accepted the money, Jackson batted .375, did not make an error, and hit the series’ only home run, ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr. noted.
Do you think this is the right call by Manfred?
These were also facts pointed out by Kevin Costner’s character, Ray Kinsella, in the 1989 movie “Field of Dreams,” during which Jackson (played by Ray Liotta) came back to life.
Devastated to hear the news of Ray Liotta’s passing. While he leaves an incredible legacy, he’ll always be “Shoeless Joe Jackson” in my heart. What happened that moment in the film was real. God gave us that stunt. Now God has Ray. pic.twitter.com/JQmk1PsuSK
— Kevin Costner & MW (@modernwest) May 26, 2022
Jackson had a lifetime batting average of .356, the fourth highest in MLB history.
In a letter to Jeffrey Lenkov — a lawyer who represented Rose’s effort to be reinstated in the MLB — Commissioner Manfred wrote that the two purposes of Rule 21, governing banning players, are to protect the integrity of the game from future acts of bad conduct, and to deter others from engaging in it, according to the AP.
“In my view, once an individual has passed away, the purposes of Rule 21 have been served. Obviously, a person no longer with us cannot represent a threat to the integrity of the game,” the commissioner wrote.
“Moreover, it is hard to conceive of a penalty that has more deterrent effect than one that lasts a lifetime with no reprieve. Therefore, I have concluded that permanent ineligibility ends upon the passing of the disciplined individual, and Mr. Rose will be removed from the permanently ineligible list.”
In addition to having the most hits in MLB history, Rose was a 17-time All-Star during a playing career spanning from 1963 to 1986. He holds the record for the most “games (3,562), at-bats (14,053), plate appearances (15,890) and singles (3,215). He was the 1963 NL Rookie of the Year, 1973 MVP and 1975 World Series MVP. A three-time NL batting champion, he broke the prior hits record of 4,191 set by Ty Cobb from 1905-28,” the AP reported.
Rose played on three World Series-winning teams: the Reds in 1975 and 1976, and the Philadelphia Phillies in 1980.
“Pete is one of the greatest players in baseball history, and Reds Country will continue to celebrate him as we always have,” Reds owner Bob Castellini said in response to Rose’s reinstatement. “We are especially happy for the Rose family to receive this news and what this decision could mean for them and all of Pete’s fans.”
The Phillies issued a statement in support of Manfred’s decision, also.
The Phillies issued the following statement today regarding Pete Rose. pic.twitter.com/nv3Rr6J3t8
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) May 13, 2025
“As one of the greatest players in the history of the game, Pete made significant on-field contributions to the Phillies over his five seasons (1979-83) with the club, highlighted by our first World Series title in 1980.
Pete Rose playing in the 1980 World Series with the Phillies pic.twitter.com/JJR27tQb4i
— Baseball In Pics (@baseballinpix) June 2, 2023
ESPN reported, “Last September, in his last interview 10 days before his death, Rose told sportscaster John Condit: ‘I’ve come to the conclusion — I hope I’m wrong — that I’ll make the Hall of Fame after I die.’”
Here is the full list of players and coaches who will have their statuses restored.
The earliest Rose and Jackson can be inducted into the Hall of Fame under the current rules is 2028.
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