Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred recently made headlines by lifting the lifetime bans on 16 formerly banned players, including two of the most famous (or infamous) names in baseball history: Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson.
This move has reignited the debate about their potential induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. One Hall of Fame voter said he doesn’t believe Rose will make it the first time he’s eligible.
I think it’s obvious that you can start with him (out of players who had a ban lifted), if you ignore all the noise and only look at the on-field Hall of Fame case, He has the easiest open-and-shut case there is.
Matt Snyder | CBS Sports
CBS Sports MLB writer and Baseball Hall of Fame voter Matt Snyder doesn’t think Rose will make it on the first attempt since his ban was lifted.
“I’m inclined to believe that he will not get in. At least on the first try,” Snyder said on the new Big League Buzz podcast from Sportsnaut. “If I had to guess, (getting) 12 out of 16 (committee members to vote yes) is a high bar. It feels like Major League Baseball probably wants him in, or else they wouldn’t have gone through with this because, let’s be real, this was all about Pete Rose.”
Snyder notes that Pete Rose is the most likely to be inducted among the players who had their bans lifted.
Read More: Why Pete Rose belongs in Cooperstown, warts and all
Pete Rose’s status has only grown with fans since his ban from baseball
In what might be considered a sacrilegious statement to Cincinnati Reds fans, Snyder believes that Pete Rose has only benefited from his ban from baseball over the years, as weird as that sounds. The mystical aura surrounding “the ban” might have led to many making him out to be a better player than he was.
“I honestly think he’s grown into historically the most famous baseball player ever, like over Babe Ruth, because of the ban,” Snyder said.
Snyder said he’s had many people tell him Pete Rose is the best player ever to play the game—something he rejects unrequivably.
“I’m sorry, but I think he might also be one of the most overrated players of all time at this point because again the legend grows and grows and grows to the point that I’ve got people yelling at me saying he’s the greatest player ever,” Snyder told Big League Buzz. “That’s ridiculous. He’s not even close to the greatest player ever.”
On the field, Rose’s case is undeniable. Snyder says it’s a no-brainer. Rose remains baseball’s all-time hits leader, a significant record to even casual fans. Snyder points out that Rose’s on-field metrics, like WAR, place him among elite players.
“I think it’s obvious that you can start with him (out of players who had a ban lifted), if you ignore all the noise and only look at the on-field Hall of Fame case,” Snyder said. “He has the easiest open-and-shut case there is.”
Rose’s ban from betting on baseball continues to raise controversy. While Rose consistently claimed he only bet on his own team to win, this fact still presents problems for those considering his enshrinement in Cooperstown.
Related: Greatest MLB players not enshrined in Baseball Hall of Fame
Joe Jackson’s case is a much different case from Rose’s
Snyder distinguishes Rose’s actions from those of Shoeless Joe Jackson, who was accused of, and admitted to, having been involved in throwing the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds. Snyder argues that being involved in throwing an actual World Series makes Jackson’s case much more problematic.
“Being involved in throwing an actual World Series, I think everybody would agree that’s far worse than the Rose aspect if we’re just talking about the gambling,” Snyder said.
Snyder views Jackson and his White Sox teammates’ fixing of World Series games as far more egregious, making the distinction between his baseball sin and Rose’s very different. The stain left on baseball by a team throwing the championship versus a manager betting on his team to win ballgames is a very different conundrum.
Read More: Pete Rose says Joe Jackson is best player not in baseball HOF
Renewed hope by fans for Rose and Joe Jackson is what’s driving the push
Even though fans are often frustrated by the process and the lack of transparency surrounding baseball’s process for electing members to the Hall of Fame, Snyder says their feedback and campaigns for their favorite players impact some voters.
“Ultimately, I don’t look at myself as bigger than the fans. And I look at kind of an arbiter for the fans,” Snyder says of his process with voting. “And if I think three-quarters of the fans want him in, I don’t want to be the one that stands in the way.”
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