Rose was a Cincinnati Reds player and manager who fell from grace after it was discovered he gambled on games. He was banned from baseball by the MLB in 1989.
“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 posted on Truth Social. “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.”
For decades, fans and even Trump repeatedly called for Rose, also called “The Hit King” and “Charlie Hustle,” to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Being suspended from baseball meant he could not be inducted.
Rose was sentenced in 1990 to five months in federal prison for filing false tax returns. He was never charged with any crimes related to his baseball career.
For years, Rose denied that he made any bets, but in 2004 admitted he regularly gambled and said he never bet against his own team.
While Trump can issue a posthumous pardon for that crime, his presidential powers do not extend to the Hall of Fame’s rules, or the baseball writers association and committees that choose Hall of Fame inductees, according to the New York Times.
Throughout the years, Rose applied for reinstatement several times, but it was never granted.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
During his career, Rose won three World Series championships and was named National League and World Series MVP. He also received two Gold Glove Awards and was a 17-time All-Star.
His No. 14 is retired in Cincinnati, and he is in the Reds Hall of Fame.
Rose had 4,256 hits in his baseball career.
GEM CITY GAMBLE
A project from the Dayton Daily News
Former Dayton police Detective Dennis Haller’s career spanned a dark time for the Dayton Police Department. Haller was a source for Dayton Daily News reporter Wes Hills, who retired in 2004 after 30 years at the paper, and agreed to share information with Hills on the condition it stay confidential until Haller’s death, which happened in 2023.
Now, we bring you Gem City Gamble, a series that uses Hills’ interviews and notes to shed new light on the largest police corruption scandal in city history and how police wiretapping and a spurned bookie may have contributed to the downfall of baseball legend Pete Rose.