There are rumblings around MLB that none other than President Donald Trump may have been the biggest factor in Pete Rose getting shockingly reinstated into the league.
On Tuesday, to the surprise of the entire baseball world, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred reinstated Pete Rose and 16 other deceased former players. Lifting their lifetime bans. The decision came out of nowhere and has many wondering why now? Well, some around the game believe the decision was truly influenced by the current president of the United States, including The Athletic MLB insider Ken Rosenthal.
“Rose, who died on Sept. 30, wanted nothing more than to be enshrined in Cooperstown. But said on multiple occasions that it would never happen while he was alive,” Rosenthal wrote. “His former lawyer, Jeffrey Lenkov, and oldest daughter, Fawn Rose, met with Manfred on Dec. 17 about taking the first step in that effort, and removing him from the ineligible list. Trump, who has been quite public in his support of Rose, met with Manfred at the White House on April 17. Manfred acknowledged Rose was a point of discussion.
Related: Four reasons why Pete Rose doesn’t deserve to be elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
“Did Rose’s death soften Manfred? Was the case presented to the commissioner by Rose’s lawyer and daughter singularly moving? Doubtful on both counts, considering Manfred’s resistance to reinstating Rose in the past,” he added. “Only after Trump entered the picture did the commissioner do an about-face.”
The president has stuck his nose into various sports-related issues since returning to office in January. He met with leaders of the PGA and LIV Golf to help with finalizing a long-in-the-works merger. And he recently made former Alabama head coach Nick Saban a co-chair for a new commission that will investigate the influence of NIL money in college sports.
The president pressuring Manfred to reinstate Pete Rose would not be a surprise. Especially since the strategy is often his modus operandi for getting whatever he wants. However, the commissioner bent but didn’t completely break. In the end, all he did was alter a rule to remove deceased players from ineligibility. With the explanation being that they can’t damage the game from beyond the grave.
