Pete Rose's daughter discusses meeting with Rob Manfred, reaction to finding out dad's ban had been lifted
Pete Rose and his family repeatedly tried to get MLB's all-time hit king back into baseball without success.
On Tuesday, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announced anyone on baseball's ineligible list would be removed from the list at the time of their deaths.
It meant Rose's ban from baseball had been lifted, making him eligible for Hall of Fame consideration.
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The announcement came just over 24 hours before Rose's Cincinnati Reds hosted Pete Rose Night, a celebration previously scheduled for the legend who died in September.
Members of Rose's family and other Reds greats were at the pregame ceremony, and Rose's daughter, Fawn, shared her reaction to the news.
"Coming off yesterday's news, we were boarding a plane in Seattle, and I got a phone call at about 10:15. And I got a phone call from our attorney. … I so wanted to be the one standing here at this podium and announcing that the ban had been lifted, but I'm so happy we can again celebrate that tonight. One step at a time. One step at a time," she said.
Fawn Rose then praised the commissioner for his discussions about her father when the family met with Manfred shortly after Pete Rose died.
"The emotion was overwhelming. I called [Pete Jr.]. My kids thought someone died because I got emotional at the airport, but it was a big deal. And during my meeting with the commissioner, the commissioner was so grateful," she said.
"He was gracious, kind, really gave me a forum to talk about my dad — not the baseball player, but the father, the grandfather and, really, what he means to the fans of Cincinnati. And I was able to take from that visitation here in Cincinnati and express to the commissioner the overwhelming feeling of love and gratitude from my dad and what he gave to this city. This city was my dad, and my brother said Cincinnati baseball, it's in our DNA. We're West Siders."
Other players now eligible include "Shoeless" Joe Jackson and the rest of the 1919 Black Sox. Overall, 17 players are now baseball eligible.
Rose admitted to gambling in 2004 after years of claiming his innocence. He died in September and predicted 10 days before his death he would not make the Hall of Fame until after he died, if at all.
MLB determined Rose gambled on the Reds, only to win, while he was both a manager and a player.
In 1991, two years after Rose was banned by A. Bartlett Giamatti, the National Baseball Hall of Fame voted to make those ineligible from baseball ineligible for potential induction into Cooperstown.
It is not yet official when Rose will be up for a vote, but it will likely be up to the Classic Baseball Era Committee, which considers players whose careers ended more than 15 years ago. That committee does not meet until December 2027, and he would need 12 of the 16 votes to get in.
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