Pete Rose’s ban from baseball won’t be lifted by Rob Manfred

Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred has denied Pete Rose’s bid for reinstatement from the ineligible list, the league announced Monday.

Rose, the all-time hits leader, has been banned from baseball — and consideration for the Hall of Fame — since 1989. Rose accepted a lifetime ban after a long investigation that concluded he bet on baseball while managing the Reds and also possibly while as a player.

Rose denied betting on baseball until finally admitting it in a 2004 autobiography. Manfred is the third commissioner, along with Fay Vincent and Bud Selig, to deny Rose’s bid for reinstatement.

Manfred and Rose, 74, met Sept. 24. At the time and in subsequent public appearances, Manfred said he would inform Rose of his decision before the end of the year

In a statement released Monday, MLB wrote: “Major League Baseball announced today that it has completed the review regarding Pete Rose’s application for reinstatement from the Ineligible List. Commissioner Robert D. Manfred Jr. today informed Mr. Rose, both verbally and in writing, that the application has been denied.”

Rose was banned under baseball’s “Rule 21,” which deals with gambling on baseball while employed by a club.

In the statement, Manfred wrote: “Allow ing him to work in the game presents an unacceptable risk of a future violation by him of Rule 21, and thus to the integrity of our sport. I, therefore, must reject Mr. Rose’s application for reinstatement.”

Manfred notes in his statement that Rose admitted in their conversation that he still bets legally on sports, including baseball, and has not “reconfigured his life” by walking away from gambling, one of the requirements Rose would have to meet to be reinstated.

Manfred writes: “In order to be satisfied that the policy underlining Rule 21 is not undermined by the granting of an application for reinstatement, I believe that, at a minimum, there must be objective evidence which demonstrates that the applicant has fundamentally changed his life and that, based on such changes, the applicant does not pose a risk of violating Rule 21 in the future. Here, what has been presented to me for consideration falls well short of these requirements. It is not all clear to me that Mr. Rose has a grasp of the scope of his violations of Rule 21.”

In a statement released by his lawyer, Ray Genco, Rose is said to be “disappointed” by the decision. The statement also said, “Pete indeed has meaningfully reconfigured his life” and added: “Pete seeks to be judged not simply by the mistakes of his past — but also by the work he has done over the last 3 decades in taking responsibility for his actions — constantly working to remain disciplined, compassionate and grateful.”

Rose will address the decision in a news conference Tuesday at a restaurant named after him in — of all places — Las Vegas.

On the question of Rose’s Hall of Fame eligibility, Manfred said he did not consider Rose’s status because the Hall is a separate entity with its own rules for eligibility that are not determined by MLB.

Rose, a visible presence during the recent postseason as an analyst for Fox, is still permitted to work for a television network or participate in MLB-sponsored ceremonial activities. The latter, Manfred said, must be approved by the commissioner’s office.

By Anthony Rieber

anthony.rieber@newsday.comAnthonyRieber

Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.