Shoeless Joe Jackson, Pete Rose become eligible for Baseball Hall of Fame
Barred from Hall of Fame eligibility forever?
It isn't so, Joe, not anymore.
Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred's landmark announcement Tuesday that he was changing the league's policy on permanent ineligibility — specifically, that bans would expire at death — opens the door to potential Hall induction for Pete Rose, the sport's "Hit King," as well as for Shoeless Joe Jackson, forever the biggest name associated with the 1919 "Black Sox" scandal.
Somewhere, former White Sox great Jackson owes a tip of the cap to Rose, who perhaps can be found in the great sportsbook in the sky. For decades, the debate about Rose — who agreed to a permanent ban in 1989 after an MLB-led investigation concluded he repeatedly bet on the Reds as a player and a manager — drummed on. Did a man with a record 4,256 hits belong in Cooperstown or didn't he? As soon as 2028, there could be a more conclusive answer.
There has been support along the way for .356 career hitter Jackson, too, though nothing that approached the inextinguishable spectacle surrounding Rose and his magnetic appeal as a flawed living legend. Recently, President Donald Trump has thrown his weight behind Rose's cause, even meeting with Manfred about it last month.
Jackson — one of the greatest Sox of ’em all — died at 64 in 1951.
Rose, a 17-time All-Star, Rookie of the Year, league MVP and three-time World Series winner, died Sept. 30 at 83.
In a letter to Rose's lawyer Jeffrey Lenkov, who met with Manfred in December and petitioned in January for the reinstatement of Rose's eligibility, Manfred wrote:
"In my view, a determination must be made regarding how the phrase 'permanently ineligible' should be interpreted in light of the purposes and policies behind Rule 21, which are to: (1) protect the game from individuals who pose a risk to the integrity of the sport by prohibiting the participation of such individuals; and (2) create a deterrent effect that reduces the likelihood of future violations by others.
"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. Moreover, it is hard to conceive of a penalty that has more deterrent effect than one that lasts a lifetime with no reprieve."
Rose first applied for reinstatement in 1997, but then-commissioner Bud Selig never ruled on the request. In 2015, Manfred rejected a petition for reinstatement, saying Rose had not "presented credible evidence of a reconfigured life."
Under the Hall of Fame's current rules, the earliest Rose or Jackson could be inducted would be in 2028. Both players would first require nominations from the Hall's 10-person Historical Overview committee, which will, according to a Hall statement, "develop the ballot of eight names for the Classic Baseball Era committee — which evaluates candidates who made their greatest impact on the game prior to 1980 — to vote on when it meets next in December 2027."
The 16-member overview committee includes Hall of Fame members, team executives and media/historians — but, for the record, no popes. That's just in case anyone was wondering if the world's most famous Sox fan, Pope Leo XIV, had begun working on Jackson's behalf.
"I love the fact that Shoeless Joe is now going to be eligible," longtime Sox broadcaster Steve Stone said via text. "And I played against Pete, and he was a great player."
A day before Rose died, he was in Nashville, Tennessee, to sign autographs at a card show. Also participating were several other members of the 1970s "Big Red Machine" as well as Hall of Famer Andre Dawson, the former Cub and Rose's teammate on the 1984 Expos.
"I think it's a great day for the game of baseball," Dawson told the Sun-Times. "Finally, you know? Yet it's sad that it had to happen after he passed away. I was a big Pete Rose fan, and we were good friends as long as he played the game. I marveled at the relationship we shared. He was an iconic figure. I know there were varying opinions about him being inducted into the Hall of Fame, but I was always an advocate. I hope this paved the way for him."
Rose's ban was lifted one day before the Reds planned to honor him with Pete Rose Night in Cincinnati.
That timing — along with the ubiquitous presence of gambling in baseball nowadays — rubbed former Sox manager Ozzie Guillen the wrong way.
"I think it's sad," Guillen told the Sun-Times. "They wait for him to die, but then after that? That guy is a Hall of Famer. To me, they should do that when he's alive. …
"It's a lot of guys in the Hall of Fame [who] got their ass dirty. You can only go by the rules of that year, but for right now, everybody's gambling, bro. That's the thing right now — everybody. Gambling is dominating life right now."