Rose, Shoeless Joe and confronting baseball’s checkered past

Earlier this week, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred lifted the lifetime bans of Pete Rose, Shoeless Joe Jackson and 15 other people who had been on the permanently ineligible list in Major League Baseball. He stated that there is no reason to keep individuals on the ineligible list after their passing because they no longer presented a risk to harm the integrity of the game.

Rose voluntarily accepted placement of the ineligible list as a settlement of a lawsuit against Major League Baseball in 1989. He had a belief that he would likely be on the list for a couple of years but then be removed by then-commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti. However, Giamatti died just a week after announcing the suspension.

Giamatti’s successor, Fay Vincent, had no desire to take Rose off the ineligible list, nor did his successor Bud Selig. Manfred had considered an appeal by Rose and his lawyer in 2015 but decided that Rose had not made enough changes in his lifestyle to give him confidence that he would not put the integrity of the game in jeopardy again. Rose admittedly was still gambling on baseball at that time.

In 1991, the year that Rose was to be considered by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America for the Hall of Fame, the Hall created a rule that stated that anyone on the permanently ineligible list could not be considered for the Hall of Fame. It became known as the “Pete Rose rule.”

Interestingly, Shoeless Joe Jackson, who was placed on the ineligible list because of his involvement in the Black Sox scandal of 1919 – where eight Sox players were accused of accepting money to throw the 1919 World Series – had been considered twice by the writers previously for Hall of Fame induction. He failed to get the necessary votes each time. This rule was clearly put in place to keep Rose out of the Hall of Fame.

The reason this redefining of the permanent ineligible list by commissioner Manfred is important is that it now opens the door to the possibility of Rose and Jackson to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Only now is Rose free; after his death.

Rose and Shoeless Joe can be considered for the Hall of Fame in 2027. That is the next time the Classic Baseball Era Committee meets. This will be a committee of 16 people – made up of current Hall of Famers, MLB executives and members of the media – who will debate and then vote upon up to eight candidates for consideration. Candidates will need at least 12 of the 16 votes to earn induction. The eight candidates for consideration will be selected by what is called a Historical Overview Committee, consisting of group of media members, statisticians and Hall of Famers.

So, there are a few steps to be taken before Rose and Jackson get their day. There is no guarantee that the Historical Overview Committee will select them for the ballot and then no guarantee that they will get the votes necessary for election.

The composition of the two committees is absolutely critical. Most people have a stance already on their feelings about Rose and whether he should be in the Hall of Fame. Those stances stem from their own personal experiences and perspective. When you ask someone where they stand on Rose, they all generally have a firm position about his Hall of Fame worthiness.

The debate isn’t about his playing ability. It is about the betting on baseball. The most important factor for Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson to get into the Hall of Fame is the composition of the Historical Overview Committee and Classic Baseball Era Committee. If the Committees are stacked with Rose and Jackson supporters, they will get the necessary votes. If not, then they will be rejected.

There are many who believe that is wrong of baseball to reinstate individuals from the ineligible list upon their death. If you’re on one side, it takes away the joy of being considered for the Hall of Fame for that person. The other side could argue it’s seen as compromising the integrity of the game because all seems forgiven.

Neither of those are true for me. If part of the punishment is that an individual won’t be able to experience their Hall of Fame consideration and possible eventual induction while alive, then so be it. It is the consequence of their behaviour. Removing a player from the ineligible list is not extending forgiveness necessarily. It only means they can now be considered for the Hall, it does not in any way grant absolution or guarantee induction.

Commissioner Manfred would not have had to redefine the permanent ineligible list if the Hall of Fame had not changed their rule to ban people on the list from induction in 1991. I don’t know whether Rose would have gotten into the Hall in 1991 or any of the 14 years after that if the Hall had never changed their criteria. It may be that Rose and Jackson’s best shot is with a 16-person committee anyways. They probably have a better chance of getting 12 of 16 votes than 333 of 443 ballots (1991 voters).

One of the big questions now is what happens if Rose and Jackson do get inducted? Will it open the door for known steroid users? The likelihood is that there are currently players in the Hall of Fame who used performance-enhancing drugs. There are also possibly players in Cooperstown who bet on baseball. There are individuals who have been involved in racism, domestic violence, substance abuse, tax fraud, etc. There are many flawed characters in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The character clause has been compromised and bent many times.

I believe the Hall of Fame should be a museum to document the history of baseball. The best-of-the-best talents should be inducted and then we can tell their stories, even if they include less than savory personal stories. My Hall of Fame would include Rose and Jackson, as well as Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens.