Rob Manfred will consider Pete Rose’s request for reinstatement
New baseball commissioner Rob Manfred has only been on the job for two months, but he may already be confronted with one of the toughest decisions of his tenure.
Representatives for former Cincinnati Reds legend Pete Rose have asked Manfred to to lift Rose’s lifetime ban, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Manfred is willing to consider the request, saying “I’m prepared to deal with that request on its merits.”
This is hardly the first time Rose has asked for reinstatement. After being suspended for gambling by former commissioner Bart Giamatti, Rose has applied for reinstatement with every commissioner following Giamatti. Neither Fay Vincent nor Bud Selig ever acted on those requests.
Under Selig, it became clear that Rose would never have his ban lifted. While there were some rumblings at the end of his tenure that Selig would relent, he ultimately decided to pass that decision to his successor.
Though Manfred has only been on the job for a short period of time, he’s shown more willingness to embrace change. Manfred has been vocal about speeding up games, and briefly considered banning the shift before he was hit with a fair amount of backlash. While the Rose decision is more complicated, Manfred seems more willing to consider reinstatement than his predecessors.
Manfred has already approved Rose’s involvement in the 2015 All-Star Game, which will be held in Cincinnati. That already seems like a major step for Rose considering the lifetime ban.
When speaking to reporters in February, Manfred said any decision he makes will be based on private discussions between Rose and his representatives. While Rose has been very public about his desires to get back into the game, it appears Manfred will attempt to keep the situation out of the public eye.
Manfred’s involvement makes Rose’s request all that more interesting. The new commissioner hasn’t been on the job long enough for fans to get a sense of his personality. He’s shown more willingness to be progressive than Selig, but it’s unclear what that means for Rose.
No matter what, Manfred’s decision will be controversial. How he handles it could give fans some insight into what type of commissioner he’ll be going forward.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
