Pete Rose, 'Shoeless' Joe Jackson to be removed from MLB permanently ineligible list

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred is expected to remove Pete Rose and “Shoeless” Joe Jackson from the league’s banned list, ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr. reported. They are among the deceased players to be removed from the ineligible list and, as a result, will now be eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Manfred argued lifetime bans end at the time of death. As a result, Rose and Jackson are among a list of 16 former MLB players who were on the permanently eligible list due to a lifetime ban. That includes some of Jackson’s teammates on the infamous 1919 Chicago White Sox team that was at the center of a gambling scandal during the World Series.

In a letter to Jeffery Lenkov, an attorney who petitioned for Rose to be removed from the banned list in January, Manfred explained his stance that lifetime bans end when players pass away. He also confirmed Rose – who died in September 2024 – will be removed from the permanently ineligible list.

“Obviously, a person no longer with us cannot represent a threat to the integrity of the game,” Manfred wrote. “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.”

More on Pete Rose, Joe Jackson’s bans

Pete Rose’s banishment came down in August 1989 by Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti after he allegedly bet on games while managing the Cincinnati Reds. MLB’s all-time hits leader, he campaigned for reinstatement multiple times throughout his life, but the league office did not do so.

Ahead of Rose’s first year of eligibility for the Hall of Fame, the board ruled anyone on the permanently ineligible list would not be eligible for election to Cooperstown. Manfred’s ruling Tuesday will change that rule, dubbed “The Pete Rose Rule.”

Joe Jackson was among the members of the 1919 White Sox banned for life as part of the “Black Sox” scandal. During that year’s World Series, eight members of the White Sox were accused of intentionally losing games against the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for payments made by a group of gamblers. Players such as Eddie Cicotte, George “Buck” Weaver and Chick Gandil were at the center of the situation, along with Jackson.

Jackson, however, had the highest batting average in the series at .375 and hit the only home run. Other players implicated in the scandal also said Jackson wasn’t part of any meetings with the gamblers. Ultimately, he was among the “Eight Men Out” – the title of the iconic book and movie about the scandal – and banned from baseball for live.

In light of Manfred’s ruling, Jackson and the rest of the 1919 White Sox on the ineligible list will now be reinstated. As a result, they will all be eligible for the Hall of Fame on the Classic Baseball Era committee ballot in December 2027, the Hall said in a statement.