Pete Rose, Major League Baseball’s all-time leader in hits, said shortly before his death that he would be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame “after I die.”
During a September 20th sit-down interview with Ohio sportscaster John Condit for an unnamed documentary, Rose had a premonition about his Hall of Fame eligibility.
“I’ve come to the conclusion – I hope I’m wrong – that I’ll make the Hall of Fame after I die,” Rose said during the interview held ten days before his death. “Which I totally disagree with because the Hall of Fame is for two reasons: your fans and your family. That’s what the Hall of Fame is for. Your fans and your family. And it’s for your family if you’re here. It’s for your fans if you’re here. Not if you’re ten feet under. You understand what I’m saying? What good is it going to do me or my fans if they put me in the Hall of Fame couple years after I pass away? What’s the point? What’s the point? Because they’ll make money over it?”
After retiring from his playing career in 1986, Rose stayed on as the manager of the Cincinnati Reds until 1989, when he came under investigation for reportedly betting on MLB games during the mid-1980s. Though Rose denied the allegations, then MLB commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti banned Rose from Major League Baseball for life, meaning he would never be eligible to be elected to the Hall of Fame.
“I’m not bitter about everything. I’m the one that f*cked up. Why am I going to be bitter? When you make a mistake, don’t be bitter to other people. I wish I hadn’t made the mistake, but I did. It’s history. Get over it,” he told John Condit. “I didn’t hurt you as a fan… I didn’t hurt any of my fans by betting on the game of baseball – and by the way, betting on the game of baseball to win. To win, okay? I wanted to win every game… I happened to win more than anybody else, but that’s okay. Not bad.”
4x MLB Manger Of The Year, Buck Showalter, wants to see Pete Rose in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
“None of us would like to have our lives judged by our worst decision. That’s for sure.”@dandakich pic.twitter.com/WRrTJCLRE1
— OutKick (@Outkick) March 5, 2025
Rose might have actually been onto something. According to a source who spoke to CBS News, current MLB commissioner Rob Manfred is considering a petition that would have Rose posthumously removed from Major League Baseball’s ineligible list. If that were to happen, Rose could be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Lawyer Jeffrey Lenkov, who represented Pete Rose before he passed away, filed a petition for reinstatement after he and Rose’s oldest daughter, Fawn Rose, met with Manfred and MLB spokesman Pat Courtney this past December.
“The commissioner was respectful, gracious, and actively participated in productive discussions regarding removing Rose from the ineligible list,” Lenkov said. He added that they are seeking reinstatement “so that we could seek induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, which had long been his desire and is now being sought posthumously by his family.”
“It is now time to turn the page on Pete Rose’s legacy in baseball and for the Hall of Fame to honor him,” Lenkov said. “Whether you are a fan or not of Pete Rose, we are at our best a nation of second chances, a nation of giving people second opportunities. We don’t write off people.”
During his 23-year playing career, Pete Rose registered 4,256 hits, a record that still stands today. He also led the Cincinnati Reds to three World Series Championships in 1975, 1976, and 1980.
