Pete Rose, Shoeless Joe Jackson, Others No Longer Deemed Ineligible by MLB

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred dropped a bombshell late Wednesday, officially reinstating Pete Rose, Shoeless Joe Jackson and any other deceased members of the MLB permanently ineligible list, presumably making those players eligible for Hall of Fame induction.

Rose, the all-time hit leader with 4,256, died in September at age 83. Since, President Donald Trump has advocated for his reinstatement, and Manfred promised to re-examine the situation. “Obviously, a person no longer with us cannot represent a threat to the integrity of the game,” Manfred wrote in a letter, according to ESPN.

Rose’s banishment was handed down by then-commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti in 1989 after the league concluded Rose had bet on games while serving as manager for the Reds. Rose applied for reinstatement 10 years ago, but it was denied when Manfred concluded Rose had not followed through on the requirement to “reconfigure his life,” which was one of Giamatti’s requirements for reinstatement.

Meanwhile, Jackson was banned as part of the 1919 Black Sox Scandal. The outfielder was a career .356/.423/.517 hitter in a career that lasted from 1908-1920, but given he hid .382/.444/.589 in his final season before banishment, there’s plenty of reason to believe he had more in his tank. He died in 1951 at age 64.

The next logical step for Rose, Jackson, the other members of the Black Sox and other reinstated former players would be placement on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot. The Hall of Fame has traditionally followed MLB’s lead in determining who is eligible for the ballot, so with Rose, Jackson and company now officially eligible, it stands to reason they would at least have a good shot at appearing on the next ballot, which is typically announced in November.

That said, there’s no guarantee that appearance on the ballot will lead to induction for Rose and Jackson. As far as on-field accomplishments are concerned, they are clearly over the line for induction, but voters have shown an increasingly inclination in the last generation for employing the character clause to help determine Hall of Fame induction. That instructions given to voters state “Voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character and contribution to the team(s) on which the player played.” It’s the main driving point behind players accused of using PEDs (like Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Alex Rodriguez) being held out of the Hall of Fame and was likely a factor in Curt Schilling falling short as well.

The character clause could be especially damning for Rose. All of the names here have ties to illegal sports gambling on the books, but Rose has other black marks, including a conviction on tax evasion and statutory rape accusation.

In the end: Expect Pete Rose, Shoeless Joe Jackson and others to appear on this November’s Hall of Fame ballot. And then don’t necessarily expect them to find their way to induction … yet, at least. They smack of guys who will float around the 40% vote mark for their first few years on the ballot before vibes shift.

There is one other alternative: Given how long it’s been since their playing days, it is possible the Hall of Fame could decide to forgo the typical induction process for the no-longer-banned players and add them to the Era Committees Elections, which are smaller ballots, not voted on my writers, and would likely given the reinstated players a better shot at induction. The catch there is those ballots are on a rotating schedule. This year’s ballot would be for the Contemporary Baseball Era/Player Ballot, which is 1980-present, and while that would probably include Rose, he’s a tough fit there. Jackson’s ballot (and possibly Rose’s) would be the Classic Baseball Era, and that doesn’t vote until December of 2027.

No one new is in the Hall of Fame yet. And while it could happen as soon as the end of this year, it’s also possible we’re in for another long wait.