Major League Baseball has formally clarified a longstanding but unaddressed issue regarding the status of deceased players on the league’s permanently ineligible list, opening the door to a pair of legends’ induction into Cooperstown.
MLB Commissioner Robert D. Manfred Jr. announced that permanent ineligibility will now be considered to expire upon the passing of the disciplined individual.
This decision comes in response to a petition filed by the family of Pete Rose, the all-time MLB hits leader who was banned in August 1989 for betting on baseball. Rose, who passed away recently, was the first person since Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis’ tenure to die while still listed as permanently ineligible.
Landis was the first baseball commissioner, holding the post from Nov. 12, 1920, until his death on Nov. 25, 1944. He banned “Shoeless” Joe Jackson after the 1920 season in the wake of the Black Sox Scandal.
The case prompted the league to adopt a definitive policy position for the first time in the modern era, explaining that Rule 21, which governs issues of integrity and conduct, was established to protect the game from individuals who might compromise its fairness and to serve as a deterrent against future violations. However, with the passing of any such individual, MLB determined that the purposes of Rule 21 have been fully served.
As a result, MLB will no longer maintain posthumous designations of ineligibility, effectively removing Rose and Jackson from the permanently ineligible list.
