Pete Rose and the Black Sox to the Hall of Fame? Don’t Hold Your Breath.

Pete Rose and the Black Sox getting into Cooperstown will still be difficult, despite their reinstatement.

MLB legends-turned-pariahs Pete Rose, “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, and 15 other players who were on the ineligible list were reinstated by Commissioner Rob Manfred on Tuesday. It is a groundbreaking decision that goes against over a century of precedence. His reasoning is that, once a person on this list passes away, he no longer represents any sort of threat to the integrity of the game. Basically, his “lifetime” ban has now, quite literally, been served.

The common thread among 16 of the 17 men formerly on this list was their involvement with gambling on baseball. Benny Kauff, who was an excellent outfielder in the early part of the 20th century, was accused of stealing a car with his brother, giving it a new paint job, then selling it. He was acquitted of the charges, but Commissioner Kennesaw Mountain Landis, an iron-fisted man responsible for banning many of the people on this list, namely the infamous Chicago “Black Sox” players like Shoeless Joe, refused to reinstate him. This all happened around the same time, so it is fair to wonder if Kauff simply got caught in the wave of Landis’s sometimes Draconian attempts to clean up baseball. 

Following Landis's Lead

Pete Rose, baseball’s hit king, bet on baseball games as a manager of the Cincinnati Reds in the 80s. Bart Giamatti, the MLB Commissioner at the time and father of Golden Globe-winning actor Paul Giamatti, laid down the hammer once Rose’s habits were uncovered, banning him for life and making him ineligible for the Hall of Fame. 

Fay Vincent and Bud Selig, despite Rose’s many reinstatement appeals, held fast to Giamatti’s decision as the succeeding Commissioners of baseball. Rob Manfred had a different interpretation, which now makes the 17 deceased members of this list eligible for Cooperstown. Rose passed away last September. The earliest he and any of these other guys will be able to be inducted is 2028, after the Classic Baseball Era Committee votes in December of 2027. 

Will several of them be inducted? Will it be just Rose and Shoeless Joe? Will they remain out of Cooperstown?

The Numbers

Although these players have not been eligible for baseball’s highest honor until now, many of them did not have the credentials anyway. A couple of them could have had Hall-worthy careers, namely Happy Felsch and the aforementioned Benny Kauff, but their banishment cut them down in their primes. Really, this whole discussion is about three names: Pete Rose, “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, and Eddie Cicotte.

Pete Rose collected 4,256 hits, the most ever, won three World Series, an MVP award, three batting titles, two Gold Gloves, and a Silver Slugger. He would’ve been a first-ballot Cooperstown inductee, without question. Shoeless Joe, with his .356 career batting average and 170 OPS+, would’ve also been a shoo-in. Jackson and Rose were era-defining players. 

Cicotte wouldn’t have been a slam-dunk inductee, but likely would’ve gotten in. He had some truly spectacular seasons, and his 209 wins and career 2.38 ERA probably would’ve been enough, though perhaps not on the first ballot. 

These are the three players most likely to have a posthumous plaque in Cooperstown. Unfortunately for them, simply becoming eligible might not be enough. 

The Unforgivable Sin

You can’t bet on the games if you’re a professional athlete, especially not the ones you’re involved with. This is worse than taking steroids. Worse than being a dick to teammates and media members. It’s worse than pretty much anything when it comes to keeping your job and remaining involved with sports, fair or not. It compromises the integrity of the game, which is the lifeblood of the business. If people en masse think the outcomes of sporting events are predetermined, events that are supposed to be legitimate, this is a poison pill. 

For what it’s worth, Rose always asserted he exclusively bet on his team to win. Jackson and Cicotte took bribes to hurt their team, the White Sox. They did a pretty bad job of it, however, as Jackson hit .375 and Cicotte threw two complete games and had a 2.91 ERA in the 1919 World Series. Nevertheless, professional sports can’t stomach this kind of compromising position.

Barry Bonds isn’t in the Hall of Fame due to his PED usage, although there are other things that should also be keeping him out. Players like Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro and others have similarly been held out due to the juice. Curt Schilling is not in the Hall due to his contentious and outspoken political beliefs, as well as his relationship with media members. All of these players are Hall of Fame-worthy. Some are more worthy than Rose, Jackson, and Cicotte. None of them were ever banned. Yet they all fell short of induction. How do we expect the gamblers to make it in when their sins hold far more weight in the eyes of voters?

The Wait Continues, Perhaps

Maybe Rose and some of the Black Sox get in, with voters exposing a soft spot for some of the game’s legends who are not around to appreciate their induction. They’ve done their time, enough is enough. That type of thing. But I wouldn’t bet on it. Specifically when it comes to Rose, who took 15 years to admit his wrongdoing and was allegedly willing to run a cocaine ring in the 80s to help pay for his gambling debts, there are things other than betting on games that could keep him out. There is also the statutory rape allegations and associated lawsuit to consider when voters weigh his character, which is part of the process. Tough look for Charlie Hustle. 

Shoeless Joe Jackson has the highest chance of making it in 2028, in my opinion. Rose’s camp might have to wait some more, as will the rest of the newly-eligible deceased players Rob Manfred reinstated.

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