MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, President Donald Trump Have Discussed Pete Rose's Ban

Rob Manfred took a trip to the White House to speak with president Donald Trump earlier this month, discussing Cincinnati Reds legend Pete Rose and his lifetime ban during their meeting.

Reds great Pete Rose holds a star bearing his name before the MLB National League game between the Cincinnati Reds and the San Diego Padres at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati. | Sam Greene / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Seven months after his death, Pete Rose's path to Cooperstown could have new life.

Rose has been on MLB's ineligible list since 1989, right after the league investigated his history of betting on baseball during his time as a player and manager with the Cincinnati Reds. Despite standing alone as the sport's all-time hits leader, and allegedly only betting in favor of his team, Rose was never up for Hall of Fame consideration.

After Rose died at the age of 83 in September, a lawyer representing his family filed a petition to have him posthumously reinstated in January – two weeks before Donald Trump was inaugurated as president of the United States. Trump then addressed the issue on right-wing social media platform Truth Social in February, claiming that he planned to grant Rose a full pardon.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred spoke at an Associated Press Sports Editors meeting on Monday and revealed that he met Trump at the White House earlier in April to discuss – among other things – Rose's status.

"I met with President Trump two weeks ago, I guess now, and one of the topics was Pete Rose, but I’m not going beyond that," Manfred said, per The Athletic. "He’s said what he said publicly, I’m not going beyond that in terms of what the back and forth was."

Manfred said he would issue a ruling on Rose's potential reinstatement, but he did not clarify when.

Beyond the gambling controversy, Rose also pled guilty to two counts of filing false tax returns in 1990, ultimately serving a five-month prison sentence. He was also accused of statutory rape in the 1970s, sparking a defamation lawsuit in 2016 that was eventually dismissed following an out-of-court settlement.

Rose is MLB's all-time leader in games played, at-bats and plate appearances, playing 19 seasons with the Reds and five with the Philadelphia Phillies. Between 1963 and 1986, Rose hit .303 with 4,256 hits, 160 home runs, 746 doubles, 135 triples, 198 stolen bases, 1,314 RBIs, 2,165 runs, a .784 OPS and a 79.6 WAR.

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