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National Post

Trump's support of Pete Rose among the voices Rob Manfred listened to in ending MLB ban

President Donald Trump's support of Pete Rose was among the factors Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred weighed when he decided last month that permanent bans by the sport ended with death, which allows the career hits leader to be considered for the Hall of Fame. Article content Manfred announced the new interpretation on May 13, a decision that allows Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson to be considered for a Hall committee vote in December 2027. Article content Article content 'The president was one of a number of voices that was supportive of the idea that this was the right decision,' Manfred said Wednesday during a news conference at an owners meeting. 'Obviously, I have respect for the office and the advice that he gave I paid attention to, but I had a lot of other people that were weighing in on the topic, as well.' Article content Rose and then-Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti agreed to a permanent ban in August 1989 after an investigation commissioned by MLB concluded Rose repeatedly bet on the Reds as a player and manager for the team from 1985-87, a violation of a long-standing MLB rule. The Hall of Fame in 1991 decided people on the permanent banned list were ineligible for consideration. Article content 'Those who really think about the reasons that I did it think that it is the right decision, and other people I think largely get confused with whether he's going to be in the Hall of Fame or not and maybe don't think that was so good,' Manfred said. Article content Robot umpires Article content Computer technology to appeal ball/strike calls could be in place for the 2026 regular season. Manfred said use of the Automated Ball-Strike System was likely to be considered by the 11-man competition committee, which includes six management representatives. Article content During a spring training experiment in 288 games, teams were successful on 52.2% of their ball/strike challenges using the Automated Ball-Strike System. Article content 'I do think that we're going to pursue the possibility of change in that process and we'll see what comes out at the end of that,' he said. 'The teams are really positive about ABS. I do have that unscientific system that I use: my email traffic. And my distinct impression is that using ABS in spring training has made people more prone to complain of balls and strike calls via email to me referencing the need for ABS.' Article content An experiment with a technology system to challenge checked-swing calls started in the Class A Florida State League on May 20. That is not under consideration for MLB use in 2026. Article content 'I think we've got to get over the hump in terms of either doing ABS or not doing it before you'd get into the complication of a separate kind of challenge,' Manfred said.