Pete Rose still wants into the Hall of Fame, so he wrote Rob Manfred an apology

Pete Rose, as you know, has been banned from consideration for induction into the Hall of Fame for decades due to his admission that he bet on games in which his Reds were involved, while he was managing the team.

He’s made several efforts to get this ban rescinded, most recently after Rob Manfred took over from Bud Selig as Commissioner in 2015.

Rose has now written another letter to Manfred asking for consideration for Hall induction, according to this TMZ article:

“I am writing today for three reasons,” Rose said in the letter. “First, because at my age I want to be 100% sure that you understand how much I mean it when I say that I’m sorry. Second, to ask for your forgiveness. And third, because I still think every day about what it would mean to be considered for the Hall of Fame.”

Rose acknowledges the hurt he caused the people he loves and respects, as well as Cincinnati Reds fans ... saying it’s one of his biggest regrets.

“Besides spending time with my kids and my partner, there’s nothing that made me happier than playing baseball in front of fans. That I let them down and brought shame to the sport we all love is something I think about every single day.”

You can read the entire Rose letter at the TMZ link above. While he does admit his mistake and does issue an apology, he also writes, “I am so proud of what I accomplished as a baseball player — I am the Hit King and it is my dream to be considered for the Hall of Fame.”

A little less bragging and a little more humility might go a bit farther with me, Pete.

TMZ says that neither Manfred nor the Hall of Fame has responded, and I suspect they won’t. A New York Post article on this topic notes:

Rose, who will reportedly place the first legal bet at the Hard Rock Casino in Cincinnati in 2023

Now here’s where those of you who are in favor of Rose entering the Hall are going to tell me that the fact that baseball (and other sports) getting into bed with gambling operations is hypocritical if they keep Rose out. I’m here to tell you that the two things are not the same. Baseball’s on-field employees are still prohibited from gambling on baseball — the rules are posted in every MLB clubhouse — and I’m sure you can see the reasons for that.

While Rose did apologize in his letter, this is a fairly recent development. The first apology he issued, a number of years ago, was far too late in my view and done only so he could sell books. He also, in his letter, notes that he’s now 81 (he’ll turn 82 in April) and that appears to me to be a plea to Manfred to get him inducted while he’s still living.

I’m still saying no. If he had admitted what he did and apologized back in 1989, when then-Commissioner Bart Giamatti banned him for a year, I suspect the year would have gone by, he’d have been reinstated and he’d have been inducted. But stonewalling for a decade and a half, not admitting anything until 2004, got him his lifetime ban.

What say you?