What does reinstatement of Pete Rose, Shoeless Joe Jackson mean for Barry Bonds?
SAN FRANCISCO — Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred announced on Tuesday that he has removed Pete Rose, “Shoeless” Joe Jackson and other deceased players from the league’s permanently ineligible list.
The decision paves the way for Rose and Jackson — two of baseball’s greatest players whose legacies were tainted by gambling — to gain admittance to the Hall of Fame.
“Obviously, a person no longer with us cannot represent a threat to the integrity of the game,” wrote Manfred in a letter to attorney Jeffrey M. Lenkov, who petitioned for Rose’s removal from the permanently banned list in January. “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.”
The decision, which comes after Rose died in September 2024 at 83, would allow Rose, Jackson and others to be considered for the Hall of Fame by the Historical Overview Committee.
Rose and Jackson would be part of the Classic Baseball Era (before 1980), meaning the earliest they can be inducted is 2028. That said, there is no guarantee that either will be elected.
Barry Bonds, for example, remains eligible for the Hall of Fame as part of the Contemporary Baseball Era after failing to be elected by the BBWAA. In December 2022, Bonds received fewer than four votes from the 16-person “veterans’ committee” — well short of the 12 votes needed to be inducted.
During his period of eligibility on the normal ballot, voters declined to elect Bonds, MLB’s all-time leader in home runs. Bonds maintained that he never knowingly used steroids in his career, but admitted to using substances provided by his trainer, which turned out to be steroids. He was a major figure in the investigation into BALCO, a Bay Area company that provided steroids to major leaguers.
Some figures in the local sports community lauded the decision and expressed hope that Bonds might someday be inducted.
Bill Duby, who runs the Golden State Grind, an elite developmental program for young players in Contra Costa County, said the reinstatement comes too late.
“While I’m glad to see Pete Rose finally reinstated by Major League Baseball, it’s deeply disappointing that this recognition came only after his passing,” Duby said. “Sadly, knowing MLB’s track record, one can’t help but wonder if this was always part of the plan — to punish the man, not just the actions.”
Tony Dress, a coach at Diablo Valley College, applauded the decision: “Awesome!,” he said in an email. “Opens the door for Bonds to get in and should in my opinion! The numbers don’t lie! I am not big on the Hall being the morality police.”
Beginning in 2025, candidates on Era Committees who don’t receive at least five votes will not be eligible for the following ballot.
“I don’t know why you wait until now, but I guess it is what it is,” said Giants manager Bob Melvin. “The guy was a great player. I’m glad he’s finally getting recognized in that light.”
Rose, MLB’s all-time leader in hits (4,256), voluntarily agreed with Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti to a permanent ban on Aug. 23, 1989, following an investigation that concluded Rose bet on the Reds as both a player and manager. Manfred previously rejected Rose’s petition for reinstatement in 2015.
In addition to gambling and a five-month sentence to a minimum security prison for federal income tax evasion, Rose was accused of statutory rape in 2017. When questioned by a female reporter in 2022, Rose replied, “It was 55 years ago, babe.”