Report: MLB commissioner considering petition to reinstate Rose

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred is considering a petition to reinstate Pete Rose, ESPN reported on Saturday.

According to ESPN, the commissioner is reviewing a petition filed on Jan. 8 by Rose’s family to have baseball’s all-time hit leader removed from the ineligible list.

Rose, who died Sept. 30 at age 83, was banned from baseball for life in 1989 after an investigation found that he bet on baseball.

The report comes a day after President Donald Trump said he would pardon Rose. MLB did not immediately respond to an email from Reuters seeking confirmation of the ESPN report.

Known as ‘Charlie Hustle,’ Rose played the majority of his 24-year career for his hometown Cincinnati Reds. The 17-time All-Star holds the MLB record with 4,256 career hits, was the National League MVP in 1973 and won three World Series titles. But he is ineligible for the Hall of Fame because of his lifetime ban.

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Rose was banned by then-commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti in 1989 after an extensive investigation revealed that he had placed numerous bets on the Reds to win from 1985 to 1987, while he was both a player and the manager of the team, violating MLB’s anti-gambling policies.

According to the ESPN report, Los Angeles lawyer Jeffrey Lenkov said he filed the reinstatement petition after he and Rose’s oldest daughter met with Manfred in the commissioner’s office last December.

‘The commissioner was respectful, gracious, and actively participated in productive discussions regarding removing Rose from the ineligible list,’ Lenkov told ESPN about the December meeting.

Lenkov told ESPN he is seeking Rose’s removal from MLB’s banned list so they can seek Rose’s induction into the Hall of Fame.

Reuters contributed to this report.