MAR-A-LAGO, FL — Former President Donald Trump announced plans to issue a posthumous pardon for Pete Rose, the all-time Major League Baseball hits leader who was banned from the sport for gambling. In a social media post on Saturday, Trump criticized the league for failing to induct Rose into the Hall of Fame before his death.
“Major League Baseball didn’t have the courage or decency to put the late, great, Pete Rose … into the Baseball Hall of Fame,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Now he is dead, will never experience the thrill of being selected.”
Rose, who passed away last fall at the age of 82, was permanently banned from baseball in 1989 after an investigation concluded he had bet on games while managing the Cincinnati Reds. MLB has maintained its prohibition on players associated with gambling, barring Rose from the Hall of Fame despite his record 4,256 career hits.
Trump defended Rose’s betting, arguing he “shouldn’t have been gambling on baseball, but only bet on HIS TEAM WINNING,” and called for MLB to induct him posthumously. “Baseball, which is dying all over the place, should get off its fat, lazy ass, and elect Pete Rose,” he wrote.
Trump’s proposed pardon would not affect Rose’s standing with MLB or the Hall of Fame, but it could clear his federal record related to the case.
Rose’s lifetime ban remains one of the most controversial decisions in baseball history.