Pete Rose meets with Rob Manfred, decision expected by end of 2015

The end of the latest Pete Rose saga is near. The Cincinnati Reds legend met with Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred on Thursday in order to discuss his case for reinstatement. MLB confirmed the meeting, and said Manfred is expected to make a decision on Rose’s case by the end of the year.

The meeting was a long time coming. Manfred agreed to allow Rose to participate in the 2015 All-Star game in January, and in March said he would consider Rose’s request for reinstatement.

(AP Photo) Since then, Rose has attempted to remain quiet about the process, but that’s proven harder than expected. In June, an ESPN report was released alleging Rose bet on games when he was still a player. Rose has admitted to gambling on games as a manager, but has always denied doing so while he was playing.

In July, Rose said he would be “open to almost anything” in his meeting with Manfred, and by August there were rumors he took a lie detector test in order to win Manfred over. While those developments might seem ridiculous, it’s just more of the same in the adventures of Pete Rose.

It’s worth noting that Manfred already ruled on the reinstatement of another prominent baseball figure this season. In September, Manfred denied an application to reinstate Chicago White Sox outfielder Shoeless Joe Jackson.

Jackson’s ruling may have set the precedent, because early reports suggest Rose is unlikely to be reinstated.

MLB confirmed the meeting, but would not comment. Rose made his case to be reinstated, but sources have told OTL unlikely he will be.

— T.J. Quinn (@TJQuinnESPN) September 25, 2015

We’ll have the real answer soon enough. Considering Manfred probably doesn’t want the news to interfere with the postseason or World Series, we probably shouldn’t expect to hear anything until the season concludes.

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Until then, we wait. If the appeal is denied, we get the sense that this is far from the last time we’ll hear about Rose’s case for reinstatement. Manfred’s ruling should close the latest chapter of that book, but, given Rose’s stature and personality, we expect this story is far from over.

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