Even with potential reinstatement, Pete Rose’s Hall of Fame candidacy comes with a catch

Free Pete Rose. 

Commissioner Rob Manfred is weighing whether to remove the late Rose from the restricted list. And considering Rose should be in the Hall of Fame and is no longer a threat to get a job or have access to young players (and influence them), Manfred should do so. 

Here’s the catch, though. Even if Manfred — who by all accounts was really only concerned about Rose’s potentially bad influence — does lift Rose’s lifetime ban, that doesn’t necessarily mean he has the same chance to make the Hall of Fame as any great player. 

An emotional Cincinnati Reds hall of famer Pete Rose adjusts his cap as he takes the microphone during a pregame ceremony for the unveiling of Pete Rose’s bronze statue being installed outside the stadium. Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Hall’s rules exclude the all-time hit king from placement on the writers’ ballot since time technically expired — rules today say writers are disallowed from considering players more than 15 years after their retirement — and he’d go straight to an occasionally less forgiving Veterans Committee for 2027 consideration.