The Major League Baseball commissioner is being urged by two state legislators to remove Pete Rose’s ineligibility for the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
“There is no one greater in the game in terms of talent. State Representative Bill Seitz, a Republican from Green Township in the Cincinnati suburbs, stated as much. He referred to it as “hypocritical” that while major league teams have made significant investments in sports betting, gambling is still prohibited against Rose.
The resolution endorsing Rose for induction into the Hall of Fame is co-sponsored by Republican state representative Tom Young from Washington Township, close to Dayton, and Seitz. Resolutions are not enforceable by law.
Rob Manfred, the commissioner of Major League Baseball, stated last year that sports betting by spectators had little effect on player wagering. “I 100 percent believe if you bet on baseball, you should be banned from baseball for life,” he stated.
Rose has reached the age of 83.
“The wide belief down in Cincinnati is that they’ll probably put him in (the Hall of Fame) when he’s dead,” Seitz stated.
Rose stated in a 2020 interview: “I made a mistake. I should not have placed that baseball wager. To be honest with you, that’s the only error I’ve ever made in my life. And the biggest error is that. A visit to the Hall of Fame would be wonderful. Any participant would. However, I refuse to be inducted into the Hall of Fame as long as my heart continues to beat.”
Charlie Hustle, as Rose was known, was a Reds player from 1963 to 1986. From 1984 to 1989, he managed the Reds both during and after his playing career. Rose won three World Series and went on to become the all-time leader in hits, games played, and at-bats.
Allegations that he wagered on baseball while a player and manager led to his 1989 baseball ban. The Hall of Fame made the decision to prevent anyone on the prohibited list from being inducted two years later.
