President Trump plans to pardon baseball legend Pete Rose posthumously, reigniting debate over the late player’s lifetime ban from MLB and Hall of Fame exclusion due to gambling allegations.
Key Insights
- Trump announced his intention to sign a complete pardon for Pete Rose, who died last year at 83, and was banned from MLB for betting on games.
- Rose holds the MLB record for most hits (4,256) and won three World Series championships during his career from 1963-1986.
- While Rose admitted in 2004 to betting on games, he maintained he never bet against his own team – a distinction Trump emphasized in his announcement.
- The exact impact of a posthumous presidential pardon on Rose’s baseball legacy and Hall of Fame eligibility remains unclear.
Trump’s Pardon Announcement
President Donald Trump announced plans to pardon baseball legend Pete Rose in the coming weeks, addressing what many baseball purists have long considered one of the sport’s greatest controversies. The announcement came via Trump’s Truth Social platform, where he declared his intention to grant a “complete pardon” to Rose, who was banned from baseball for life in 1989 after an investigation concluded he had bet on games while managing the Cincinnati Reds. Rose, who passed away in September 2023 at age 83, never gained admittance to the Baseball Hall of Fame despite his record-breaking career achievements.
“Over the next few weeks I will be signing a complete pardon of Pete Rose, who shouldn’t have been gambling on baseball, but only bet on his team winning,” Trump stated in his social media post. The president specifically emphasized that Rose “never betted against himself, or the other team,” a crucial distinction in the ongoing debate about Rose’s legacy and the severity of his punishment.
The president declared that baseball has been "dying all over the place" as he revealed his plan to posthumously pardon the controversial player. https://t.co/fmDHLuK9uE
— HuffPost (@HuffPost) March 2, 2025
Rose’s Complicated Legacy
Pete Rose’s career numbers stand among the most impressive in baseball history. Over his 24-season career spanning from 1963 to 1986, Rose amassed an MLB-record 4,256 hits while playing primarily for the Cincinnati Reds, with stints on the Philadelphia Phillies and Montreal Expos. His achievements include three World Series championships, 17 All-Star selections across five different positions, and the National League MVP award in 1973. Beyond hits, Rose also leads MLB in games played, at-bats, singles, and outs.
“He never betted against himself, or the other team. He had the most hits, by far, in baseball history, and won more games than anyone in sports history.” – President Donald Trump
Despite these remarkable accomplishments, Rose’s legacy remains tarnished by the gambling scandal. After years of denial, Rose finally admitted in his 2004 autobiography that he had indeed bet on baseball games, including those involving the Reds, though he maintained he never bet against his own team. His legal troubles extended beyond baseball when he pleaded guilty to felony charges of filing false tax returns in 1990, further complicating his public image.
Rose plead guilty to two counts of filing false tax returns and was banned from MLB from a sports betting scandal. https://t.co/I9pLEhoDxC
— NBC Los Angeles (@NBCLA) March 2, 2025
Presidential Pardon and Hall of Fame Implications
Trump’s announcement has raised questions about the scope and potential impact of such a pardon. Presidential pardons typically address federal crimes, and Rose’s federal convictions were limited to tax evasion charges from 1990. The lifetime ban from baseball was imposed by Major League Baseball itself, not the federal government. This distinction means a presidential pardon may have limited practical effect on Rose’s baseball status, though it could serve as a powerful symbolic gesture.
The president’s announcement specifically criticized MLB leadership for keeping Rose out of the Hall of Fame. “The Baseball Commissioner, and the powers that be, should never have kept him out of the Hall of Fame,” Trump stated in his post. Critics of Rose’s ban have long argued that his on-field accomplishments merit Hall of Fame recognition, regardless of his gambling violations, while supporters of the ban emphasize the fundamental importance of the sport’s integrity rules.
While a presidential pardon would represent a significant endorsement of Rose’s baseball legacy, the decision about Hall of Fame induction ultimately remains with the Baseball Hall of Fame and its voting members. Whether Trump’s planned pardon might influence those organizations to reconsider Rose’s case remains to be seen, but it has certainly reignited the decades-old debate about one of baseball’s most controversial figures.
Sources:
- Trump Says He Will Pardon Baseball Great Pete Rose | The Epoch Times
- Trump Says He Will Pardon Baseball Great Pete Rose | The Epoch Times
