Ohio lawmakers petition for banned MLB superstar Pete Rose to be inducted to Hall of Fame

Rose has been dubbed the “all-time hit king” due to his impressive record of 4,256 career hits, which remains undefeated.

By Misty Severi

Published: April 25, 2024 7:17pm

Two Ohio state lawmakers are requesting that baseball legend Pete Rose be admitted to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame, despite a ban that has made him permanently ineligible.

Rose, who was banned from the league in 1989 for betting on baseball while he was a player and manager, has been dubbed the “all-time hit king” due to his impressive record of 4,256 career hits, which remains undefeated, according to Fox News. Rose played 24 seasons in the MLB, primarily with the Cincinnati Reds, and is a 17-time All Star.

Ohio GOP Reps. Bill Seitz and Tom Young are co-sponsoring a resolution to request that MLB commissioner Rob Manfred lift the ban on Rose. The lawmakers are hoping the Hall of Fame will give Rose a plaque on their walls within his lifetime, since he is now 83.

"From the standpoint of talent in the game, there's nobody better. Period," Seitz told the Cincinnati Enquirer on Tuesday. "The wide belief down in Cincinnati is that they'll probably put him in (the Hall of Fame) when he's dead."

Seitz also called it “hypocritical” for the league to invest so heavily in sports betting operations, when a ban is still being held against Rose. However, it remains illegal for players to bet on the games.

Rose has already asked Manfred to forgive his illegal sports betting, which he admitted to doing in 2004. But Manfred has rejected previous calls to lift the ban, claiming that fans betting on baseball is different from players betting.

"I 100 percent believe if you bet on baseball, you should be banned from baseball for life," Manfred said in 2023.

Rose has also requested that the ban on him being inducted into the Hall of Fame be lifted four other times, claiming it was his “dream to be considered for the Hall of Fame."

Despite the ban on playing in games, Rose has still attended several MLB events over the years, including a celebration of the 25th anniversary of when he broke the record for career hits in 2010. He also attended festivities before an All Star game in Cincinnati in 2015, and celebrated the 1980s Philadelphia Phillies in 2022. Rose played for the Phillies in 1980, when they won the World Series.