In a petition which was sent to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred’s office on Wednesday morning, Pete Rose asked that his name be removed from Major League Baseball’s ineligible list, which would allow him to be considered for induction into the Hall of Fame.
Rose, who has been suspended for more than 30 years for gambling on baseball while he was manager of the Cincinnati Reds, makes the argument that, since Manfred opted not to punish the players who were implicated into the investigation into the Houston Astros stealing signs, the 78-year-old should also be exempt from the commissioner’s discipline.
According to the petition, Rose’s lifetime ban is “vastly disproportionate” when compared to the punishments handed down to players who took performance-enhancing drugs as well as the lack of punishment doled out to Houston’s players.
“There cannot be one set of rules for Mr. Rose and another for everyone else,” Rose’s 20-page petition states. “No objective standard or categorization of the rules violations committed by Mr. Rose can distinguish his violations from those that have incurred substantially less severe penalties from Major League Baseball.”
Last month, the all-time major league hit leader told The Associated Press he wasn’t sure if betting on baseball or cheating at baseball was worse.
“I don’t know,” Rose said. “All I know is I’ve been suspended for 30 years now. I don’t know anybody that’s been suspended for 30 years. Which one is worse, stealing signs electronically, taking steroids or betting on baseball? All three are bad. But at least what I did never had anything to do with the outcome of the game.”
Rose previously asked Manfred to be removed from the ineligible list in December of 2015. The request was denied, as was a separate request to the Hall of Fame to be placed on its ballot in 2017.
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