Will Manfred Reverse The Rose ban? Don’t Bet Against It
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The face time MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred is getting with the media in his first few months in office certainly trumps the time his predecessor, Bud Selig, proactively spent courting fans and media in most of his long term in baseball’s top spot. Manfred has made the rounds of the clubs and virtually every conference and media outlet telling his vision for baseball, and dealing with every issue from the continuing PED debate to labor piece to gaming and gambling.
This week, just before the St. Louis Cardinals scandal broke, Manfred sat down with Sports Illustrated’s Chris Stone at the Cynopsis Sports Conference in Manhattan, and addressed a fan favorite topic, one that the media likes to wax upon, the re-instatement of Pete Rose. With Rose being more involved in baseball formally this year, MLB has granted the Cincinnati Reds the ability to include the banned for gambling star in this year’s All-Star festivities and will let FOX include him in their national broadcasts from a studio setting, Stone asked when, or if, Manfred will allow “Charley Hustle” back into the game and make him eligible for that illusive Hall of Fame vote.
“It is certainly a topic we are looking at closely, and I think the time is coming soon where we will sit down and make a decision either way on Pete Rose,” Manfred said. “It will not be before the All-Star Game but I have given my word that we will address this finally sooner rather than later and then he, and the public will know where we stand and what, if any changes will be made to his status. I feel after all this time we owe it to him and to everyone else to look at everything and make clear our stance going forward. It is the fair thing to do.”
Manfred did not say what factors would go into the final decision or if he has spoken to Rose yet, but the fact that the issue will be addressed and will bring closure to the story is once again proof that the new commissioner is willing to be open and honest to talk about situations long thought taboo. How will it go, we also asked Jon Pessah, whose recent book, The Game, looks back at the issues that almost cost baseball is high perch, from steroids to gambling in the last few decades for his thoughts on the Rose situation and the gambling issue which Manfred continues to examine.
“Baseball has always tip-toed around gambling, given the Black Sox and Pete Rose scandals,” Pessah added. “That said, Rob Manfred and today’s owners are pragmatists in a very competitive entertainment landscape. Gambling is clearly part of the attraction of pro football, and MLB is looking for any way it can maintain and expand its fan base. I think Manfred and MLB will cautiously proceed down the parallel paths of fantasy sports and legal gambling.”
Pete Rose back in baseball under the new commissioner’s reign? Don’t bet against it.