What to know about MLB's decision to lift bans on Pete Rose, Joe Jackson
Pete Rose and 'Shoeless Joe' Jackson have been reinstated by Major League Baseball (MLB) Commissioner Rob Manfred, making both eligible for the sport's Hall of Fame after their careers were tarnished by gambling scandals.
Rose's permanent ban was lifted on Tuesday, eight months after his death and a day before the Cincinnati Reds honour baseball's career hits leader with Pete Rose Night.
Manfred announced he was changing the league's policy on permanent ineligibility, saying bans would expire at death.
Here is all to know about the MLB lifting the ban on two of baseball's all-time great players:
Rose and Jackson were considered longstanding pariahs in Major League Baseball due to their gambling on the sport.
Jackson was a member of the Chicago White Sox team that were accused of conspiring with gamblers to purposely lose the 1919 World Series.
He accepted $5,000 to throw the series, which the Cincinnati Reds won. Eight players from that White Sox team, despite avoiding criminal charges, were banned from organised baseball in 1921.
Rose was caught betting on games while manager of the Cincinnati Reds and was barred for life from baseball by Commissioner Bart Giamatti in 1989.
Jackson's phenomenal career batting average of .356 is the fourth highest in MLB history. Later, after he was banned from the majors, he played baseball under assumed names in southern leagues in the United States.
Jackson died in 1951 but remains one of baseball's most recognisable names in part for his depiction by actor Ray Liotta in the 1989 movie Field of Dreams.
Rose set MLB career records for hits (4,256), games played (3,562) and at-bats (14,053) – among others – and finished with a .303 career batting average. He won the World Series three times, twice with the Reds and once with the Philadelphia Phillies.
Rose also won three batting titles, two Gold Glove Awards, the National League Rookie of the Year and the National League Most Valuable Player.
Rose died on September 30 aged 83.
Rose's supporters have included US President Donald Trump, who expressed on social media in March that he intends to pardon Rose posthumously. Trump didn't specify what a Rose pardon would be for, but he was sentenced to five months in prison for submitting falsified tax returns in 1990.
Manfred discussed Rose with Trump when the pair met in April, but he hasn't disclosed specifics of their conversation other than they discussed Rose's eligibility for reinstatement into the league.
Was Trump's pardon post two months earlier behind the MLB's decision on Tuesday to lift the bans on Rose and Jackson?
The MLB would point to its in-house disciplinary procedures as the only way for disgraced players to be formally reinstated into the league.
Rose and Jackson won't be eligible to come up for a vote until the Hall of Fame's Classic Era Baseball committee meets in December 2027.
The committee is responsible for voting on individuals who made their biggest impact in baseball before 1980.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Jazeera
5 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Six wounded in attack at Colorado rally for Israeli captives in Gaza
Police in the United States have arrested a male suspect after at least six people were wounded at an outdoor mall in the town of Boulder, Colorado, in an incident the FBI immediately described as a 'targeted terror attack'. The assault took place on Sunday as demonstrators with a volunteer group called Run For Their Lives gathered to raise attention to the plight of Israeli captives who remain in Gaza. The suspect, identified as 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman, yelled, 'Free Palestine', and used a makeshift flamethrower in the attack, according to Mark Michalek, an FBI special agent. Soliman was taken into custody. No charges were immediately announced but officials said they expect to hold him 'fully accountable'. Soliman was also injured and was taken to hospital to be treated, but authorities did not elaborate on the nature of his injuries. Police in Boulder were more circumspect about a motive. Police Chief Steve Redfearn said it 'would be irresponsible' for him to speculate while witnesses were still being interviewed. But he noted that the group that had gathered in support of the captives had assembled peacefully and that the victims' injuries – ranging from serious to minor – were consistent with them having been set on fire. The victims were aged 67 to 88, the police said. 'This was a beautiful Sunday afternoon in downtown Boulder on Pearl Street, and this act was unacceptable,' Redfearn added. 'I ask that you join me in thinking about the victims, the families of those victims, and everyone involved in this tragedy.' The incident comes amid heightened tensions in the US over Israel's war in Gaza, which has spurred an increase in both anti-Semitic and Islamophobic violence. The US is Israel's staunchest ally, arming a military that has killed more than 54,000 people in Gaza, most of whom are women and children, and imposed a blockade that has left some 2.3 million people on the verge of famine. Hamas, meanwhile, continues to hold some 58 people it took captive during the Palestinian group's attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023. Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher, reporting from Washington, DC, said investigations were continuing in Boulder, which is located northwest of the city of Denver. 'The police received initial reports of people being set on fire at a march that has happened every weekend for the last year in support of those being held captive in Gaza,' Fisher said. 'There was a man who was pictured on social media who seemed to be carrying what appears to be two bottles of liquid, and locals are saying that that was essentially petrol bombs, Molotov cocktails, which were thrown at the crowd', he said. 'The police have confirmed that some of the injuries are serious,' Fisher added. 'At least two people, we are told locally, have been taken to hospital by helicopter.' Brooke Coffman, a 19-year-old at the University of Colorado who witnessed the attack, said she saw four women lying or sitting on the ground with burns on their legs. One of them appeared to have been badly burned on most of her body and had been wrapped in a flag by someone, she said. She described seeing a man whom she presumed to be the attacker standing in the courtyard shirtless, holding a glass bottle of clear liquid and shouting. 'Everybody is yelling, 'Get water, get water',' Coffman said. Colorado Governor Jared Polis said in a statement that he was 'closely monitoring' the situation, adding that 'hate-filled acts of any kind are unacceptable'. Boulder's Jewish community also condemned the attack. 'We are saddened and heartbroken to learn that an incendiary device was thrown at walkers at the Run for Their Lives walk on Pearl Street as they were raising awareness for the hostages still held in Gaza,' members of the community said in a statement.
Al Jazeera
9 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Several people wounded in attack in US city of Boulder, Colorado
Police said a male suspect was taken into custody after an attack that injured multiple people in Boulder, Colorado, in what the FBI director described as a 'targeted' act of terror. While stressing that the information was 'very preliminary,' Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn said on Sunday that the man was apprehended following calls to the police dispatch of someone with a weapon who was 'setting people on fire'. Redfearn said he wasn't in a position to identify the suspect yet, noting that he'd been taken to the hospital. He said there were multiple injuries among the victims, ranging 'from very serious to more minor.' The Boulder attack occurred in the vicinity of a walk to remember the Israeli captives who remain in Gaza. FBI Director Kash Patel, in a statement, described the incident as a 'targeted terror attack' and said agents were on the scene. Redfearn, however, said it was too early to speculate about a motive. 'We are not calling it a terror attack at this moment,' he said. 'This was a beautiful Sunday afternoon in downtown Boulder on Pearl Street and this act was unacceptable,' he said. 'I ask that you join me in thinking about the victims, the families of those victims, and everyone involved in this tragedy.' More to follow.
Al Jazeera
a day ago
- Al Jazeera
LAFC qualify for final FIFA Club World Cup spot in extra-time nailbiter
Gabon forward Denis Bouanga scored late in extra time, and Los Angeles FC (LAFC) dramatically secured the final spot in the FIFA Club World Cup with a 2-1 victory over Mexican side Club America in a play-in match. Igor Jesus tied it for LAFC in the 89th minute on Saturday night, slipping through traffic and converting a header for his first goal with his new club. After 24 tense minutes of extra time, Bouanga jumped into the play and fired home a deflected shot from the top of the penalty area in the 115th minute, setting off a wild celebration at BMO Stadium and sending LAFC to their first FIFA Club World Cup. LAFC will join English club Chelsea, Brazil's Flamengo and Tunisia's ES Tunis when group play begins in two weeks across the southern United States. LAFC's victory is extraordinarily lucrative for the Major League Soccer (MLS) power, guaranteeing at least $9.55m in prize money for making the tournament field. The club also has a chance at nearly $100m more in prize money from FIFA's nearly $1bn pool. Brian Rodriguez put Club America ahead midway through the second half by converting a penalty kick against his former team, but Las Aguilas fell short in front of thousands of supporters. One spot in the 32-team Club World Cup was open because FIFA disqualified Mexican side Leon under its rules against participation by multiple clubs owned by the same entity. Leon and Pachuca are owned by the same group, and Leon lost its appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport four weeks ago after attempting to change its ownership structure. With a stadium full of raucous fans supporting both teams, LAFC and Club America were cautious in the first half, putting just one shot on target apiece. Rodriguez beat Hugo Lloris from the spot in the 64th minute, capitalising on a penalty awarded following a video review of Mark Delgado's risky, spikes-up challenge on Erick Sanchez. Rodriguez, who came on as a half-time substitute after recovering from injury recently, spent parts of four seasons with LAFC from 2019 to 2022 before the Uruguayan winger moved to America for a hefty transfer fee. LAFC got moving offensively when Olivier Giroud came on as a second-half substitute. The French star nearly tipped home a pass in the box in the 81st minute, but Luis Malagon thwarted him. LAFC cranked up their late pressure behind Bouanga and Giroud. Jesus, the 22-year-old Brazilian midfielder, finally beat Malagon with a header in the box. Lloris stopped a point-blank chance for Javairo Dilrosun in the second half of extra time shortly before Bouanga's winner. Tickets for the match were distributed equally between the clubs' supporters, and Club America have a large fan base in Los Angeles, where Mexican teams and players are greeted with massive support whenever they visit. Club America fans mobbed the south stands at BMO Stadium 90 minutes before kickoff, while LAFC's famed North End crowd was packed. Both sections set off fireworks and smoke bombs after kickoff, underlining the remarkable atmosphere and giving a taste of what is to come in June and July. The largest Club World Cup to date will be held across the US as a precursor to the FIFA World Cup's return to North America in 2026. Inter Miami and the Seattle Sounders have already qualified from MLS, while Pachuca and Monterrey have qualified from Liga MX.
