(Seattle) Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred has no plans to change Pete Rose’s lifetime ban and added that trade deals with sports betting companies have no impact on the status of the all-time leader in hits and former manager.
Rose accepted a lifetime suspension in 1989 after an investigation by attorney John Dowd on behalf of Major League Baseball determined that Rose had bet in favor of Cincinnati Reds wins between 1985 and 1987, when he played and managed the ‘crew.
The Baseball Hall of Fame ruled in 1991 that the names of permanently ineligible players would not appear on ballots. Rose requested in 2016 that this rule be changed.
Rose requested an end to the suspension in 1997, then met with then-commissioner Bud Selig in 2002, but Selig never issued a decision on Rose’s request. Manfred took over from Selig in 2015 and turned down Rose’s request.
“We have always approached the issue of sports betting with the understanding that players and people in a position to influence the outcome of matches will be subject to different rules than the rest of the world,” Manfred told members of the Baseball Writers Association of America, Tuesday.
“Pete Rose violated what is essentially the number one rule of baseball and the consequences of that rule are clear. We have always continued to apply our rules, added Manfred. The rules are different for players. It’s part of the responsibilities that come with the privilege of being a Major League Baseball player. »
Manfred played down the impact of revenue earned by Major League Baseball through sports betting businesses.
“I think people think we make more money from betting than we really do,” he said.