In a groundbreaking decision, Rob Manfred has reinstated 16 deceased players from MLB’s permanently ineligible list and one black-listed owner.
Pete Rose and “Shoeless” Joe Jackson are the highest profile names that have been reinstated in a list first obtained by ESPN. Rose received a lifetime ban for betting on baseball while managing the Reds, while Jackson was a member of the 1919 White Sox that threw the World Series.
Rose died last year while Jackson passed away in 1951, and it appears Manfred simply concluded that somebody deceased could no longer harm baseball.
“Obviously, a person no longer with us cannot represent a threat to the integrity of the game,” Manfred wrote in a letter obtained by ESPN. “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.”
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The reinstatement of Rose and Jackson opens the door to enshrinement in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Rose is MLB’s all-time hits leader with 4,256 and would have been a lock for Cooperstown if not for the gambling, while Jackson was a .356 hitter in his own right.
Because the two last played so long ago, they wouldn’t be subject to a standard BBWAA election. Rose and Jackson would need to be elected by the Classic Baseball Era Committee, who are set to meet again in December of 2027. The 16-person panel consists of a mix of Hall of Famers, executives and historians, and a candidate needs 12 votes for enshrinement.
In addition to Rose and Jackson, Eddie Cicotte, Happy Felsch, Chick Gandil, Fred McMullin, Swede Risberg, Buck Weaver, Lefty Williams, Joe Gedeon, Gene Paulette, Benny Kauff, Lee Magee, Phil Douglas, Cozy Dolan, Jimmy O’Connell and William Cox were reinstated from the permanently ineligible list.
