Pete Rose and “Shoeless” Joe Jackson are now eligible to be voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Death ended up being the deciding factor in MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred’s mind as he reversed bans for gambling that have been in effect for 36 and 104 years respectively.

“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,” Manfred wrote in a statement that dealt primarily with Rose’s suspension. “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.”

Rose died in 2024 at the age of 83. He is the all-time MLB leader in hits with 4,256 and games played.

MLB began investigating Rose for gambling in 1989 when he was manager of the Cincinnati Reds. The team finished second in the National League West four times. There was ample proof that he gambled on baseball games played by other teams, but also on the Reds. He agreed to a lifetime ban if Baseball did not formally declare he had bet on the game. The deal was with A. Bartlett Giamatti, who was commissioner at the time. Giamatti would die just eight days later at the age of 51. Rose would maintain that Giamatti never intended for the ban to be forever and that subsequent continuances of the ban violated the intent of the agreement. Rose eventually admitted to gambling on games and would go so far as to say he bet on every game he managed for the Reds from 1984-’89. He never wavered in his assertion that he always bet on the Reds to win. In 2007, he told ESPN Radio that he bet on the team every game. For years, though, he had denied betting at all, and then denied betting on the Reds. The refusal to accept responsibility and the changing story is a big part of why the public never fully backed him in his quest to be reinstated.

Gambling is what linked Rose and Jackson more than anything. Because of the scandal that nearly ended baseball in the United States, betting on games was baseball’s third rail. Jackson was a member of the Chicago White Sox when he and seven others were accused of taking cash in exchange for losing the 1919 World Series to, coincidentally, the Reds. The Black Sox Scandal led to the eight players being banned for life by then-commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, even though all were acquitted of conspiracy charges.

Jackson said he took $5,000, but never did anything to hurt his team. The facts would seem to support the claim. He hit .375 average in that series. His 12 hits set a record as he drove in six runs, threw out five opposing players, and committed no errors.

Jackson hit .356 in 13 years as a pro. He was top 10 in Most Valuable Player voting four times. He led the Majors in triples three times and defensive assists twice. He also posted five seasons of double-digit errors. He told the Sporting News, in 1942, “Regardless of what anybody says, I was innocent of any wrongdoing.” “I gave baseball all I had. The Supreme Being is the only one to whom I’ve got to answer. If I had been out there booting balls and looking foolish at bat against the Reds, there might have been some grounds for suspicion. I think my record in the 1919 World Series will stand up against that of any other man in that series or any other World Series in all history.”

A host of other players banned also are now eligible, including Jackson’s Black Sox teammates: Eddie Cicotte, Happy Felsch, Chick Gandil, Fred McMullin, Swede Risberg, Buck Weaver, and Lefty Williams.

Joe Gedeon, Gene Paulette, Benny Kauff, Lee Magee, Phil Douglas, Cozy Dolan, Jimmy O’Connell, and William Cox were also reinstated.

It is my opinion, Manfred got this one right. The two men cannot be punished any more than they already have been. As competitive as Rose was, I do not doubt that he always bet on the Reds to win when he bet. This is the man who destroyed catcher Ray Fosse in a play at the plate during an All-Star game. But, with as long as it took him to finally come clean, many people still doubt that the last version of his story is the truth. It would make sense that the story evolved to include whatever Rose thought would make the public and the commissioner’s office happy. It’s sad that his death was what the commissioner’s office was actually waiting for. But then again, what is the use of having a punishment if you go back on your word and don’t follow through. Most parents will tell you that only sets you up for a cycle of enabling adults and spoiled, misbehaving children. As for Jackson, his acceptance of money was wrong. He’s lucky his performance in the series didn’t get him killed. Mobsters generally don’t like double-crosses. And, that’s the really the point of both punishments. Gambling was illegal and unregulated, while being controlled by vicious, gun-toting criminals. No one wants that in any business. Seems strange to have Major League Baseball in bed with legalized gambling now. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer…I guess.