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The road to get Pete Rose into Cooperstown took a tremendous step forward on Tuesday.
Rose, who was ousted for gambling, has been removed from Major League Baseball's permanently ineligible list after MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announced that players' ineligibility from the game ends upon their deaths.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame has made those on the list ineligible to be voted into Cooperstown, a ruling that went into effect in 1991, two years after Rose was banned by A. Bartlett Giamatti.
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The Enquirer/Sam Greene Pete Rose, baseball’s all-time hit king, was ruled ineligible for the Hall of Fame in 1989 for betting on baseball. Reds great Pete Rose holds a star bearing his name before the MLB National League game between the Cincinnati Reds and the San Diego Padres at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati on Friday, June 24, 2016. (IMAGN)
"Obviously, a person no longer with us cannot represent a threat to the integrity of the game," Manfred wrote in a letter, obtained by ESPN, to attorney Jeffrey M. Lenkov. "Moreover, it is hard to conceive of a penalty that has more deterrent effect than one that lasts a lifetime with no reprieve.
"Therefore, I have concluded that permanent ineligibility ends upon the passing of the disciplined individual, and Mr. Rose will be removed from the permanently ineligible list."
MLB made the announcement in a press release.
"This issue has never been formally addressed by Major League Baseball, but an application filed by the family of Pete Rose has made it incumbent upon the Office of the Commissioner to reach a policy decision on this unprecedented issue in the modern era as Mr. Rose is the first person banned after the tenure of Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis to die while still on the ineligible list. Commissioner Manfred has concluded that MLB’s policy shall be that permanent ineligibility ends upon the passing of the disciplined individual," MLB said.
FILE - Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds in action at the bat against the Atlanta Braves in Atlanta, Aug. 2, 1978. At left is Atlanta catcher Joe Nolan. (AP Photo, File)
Rose finally admitted to gambling in 2004 after years of pleading his innocence.
The ruling also effectively increases "Shoeless" Joe Jackson's chances of getting into Cooperstown. It is widely assumed to have taken a part in the 1919 Black Sox scandal - seven others were then banned from the game for fixing the World Series that year.
It was found that Rose gambled on the Reds, only to win, while he was both a manager and a player.
Cincinnati Reds Hall of Famer Pete Rose adjusts his cap as he takes the microphone during a pregame ceremony for the unveiling of Pete Rose's bronze statue being installed outside the stadium before the MLB National League game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati on Saturday, June 17, 2017. (IMAGN)
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In total, 17 players are now baseball eligible.
This is a developing story. Please check back for more updates.
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