BASEBALL: MLB commissioner denies Rose reinstatement – Grand Forks Herald

MLB said Manfred contacted Rose on Monday to inform him of the ruling.

“Mr. Rose’s public and private comments, including his initial admission in 2004, provide me with little confidence that he has a mature understanding of his wrongful conduct, that he has accepted full responsibility for it, or that he understands the damage he has caused,” Manfred said in his decision.

In his statement, Manfred also tried to clarify Rose’s eligibility for the Hall of Fame.

“In my view, the considerations that should drive a decision on whether an individual should be allowed to work in baseball are not the same as those that should drive a decision on Hall of Fame eligibility,” Manfred wrote. “… Any debate over Mr. Rose’s eligibility for the Hall of Fame is one that must take place in a different forum.

“I respect Mr. Rose’s accomplishments as a player and, as a result, I will continue to allow him to participate in ceremonial activities that present no threat to the integrity of the game, provided that the activities are approved by me in advance.”

Rose, baseball’s all-time hits leader, and Manfred met in the commissioner’s office in New York in September. The commissioner had said he would make a decision on Rose by the end of 2015.

Rose was banned from baseball in 1989 after the league’s investigation into his gambling. He applied for reinstatement for a second time in March.

John Dowd, who led the investigation into Rose’s gambling that led to the ban, said he supported Manfred’s decision, according to ESPN.

“My reaction is I am very proud of the commissioner,” Dowd said. “He got it exactly right. I am happy for the game.”

Rose, 74, applied for reinstatement in September 1997 and met with then-commissioner Bud Selig in November 2002, but Selig never ruled on Rose’s application. Manfred succeeded Selig in January.

For almost 15 years after being banned, Rose denied he bet on baseball, but in 2004 he admitted that he did so only when managing the Cincinnati Reds.

Rose, who amassed a record 4,256 hits during his 24-year playing career. He was a career .303 hitter who won three World Series rings.

Rose passed Ty Cobb as career hits leader with No. 4,192 on Sept. 11, 1985. He played for the Reds from 1963 to 1978 and 1984 to 1986, acting as both a player and a manager from 1984 to 1986 and continuing as just a manager until 1989.