President Donald Trump said on Friday that he will issue a pardon to Pete Rose and called for the MLB all-time hit king to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
“Major League Baseball didn’t have the courage or decency to put the late, great, Pete Rose, also known as ‘Charlie Hustle,’ into the Baseball Hall of fame,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Now he is dead, will never experience the thrill of being selected, even though he was a FAR BETTER PLAYER than most of those who made it, and can only be named posthumously. WHAT A SHAME! Anyway, over the next few weeks I will be signing a complete PARDON of Pete Rose, who shouldn’t have been gambling on baseball, but only bet on HIS TEAM WINNING. He never betted against himself, or the other team. He had the most hits, by far, in baseball history, and won more games than anyone in sports history. Baseball, which is dying all over the place, should get off its fat, lazy ass, and elect Pete Rose, even though far too late, into the Baseball Hall of Fame!”
Trump did not specify what the pardon would cover. Rose did plead guilty to tax evasion charges in 1990 and served five months in prison.
Rose died in September at age 83 from heart disease. He was banned from baseball in 1989 for gambling on games — including his own team’s games — while he was manager of the Cincinnati Reds. A bid for reinstatement was rejected by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred in 2015.
Rose eventually admitted to betting on baseball in a 2004 book after long denying the allegations..
The lifetime ban has kept Rose out of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
John Dowd, who led the investigation that ultimately resulted in Rose’s ban, said in a statement to ESPN that MLB is “not in the pardon business nor does it control admission to the HOF.”
As a player, Rose left an indelible mark on the MLB record books with his pursuit of Ty Cobb’s hits record. He retired with 4,256 hits, a mark that may never be touched again, as well 17 All-Star selections, three batting titles, an MVP award two Gold Gloves, a Silver Slugger and a Rookie of the Year award.
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