MLB took President Trump's support of Pete Rose into account - ESPN

NEW YORK — President Donald Trump's support of Pete Rose was among the factors weighed by Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred when he decided last month that permanent bans by the sport ended with death, which allows the career hits leader to be considered for the Hall of Fame.

Manfred announced the new interpretation May 13, and that decision allows Rose and «Shoeless» Joe Jackson to be considered for a Hall committee vote in December 2027.

«The president was one of a number of voices that was supportive of the idea that this was the right decision,» Manfred said Wednesday during a news conference at an owners meeting. «Obviously, I have respect for the office, and the advice that he gave I paid attention to, but I had a lot of other people that were weighing in on the topic, as well.»

Rose and then-commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti agreed to a permanent ban in August 1989 after an investigation commissioned by MLB concluded that Rose repeatedly bet on the Reds as a player and manager for the team from 1985 to 1987, a violation of a long-standing MLB rule.

The Hall of Fame in 1991 decided people on the permanent banned list were ineligible for consideration.

Manfred on Wednesday discussed a number of topics impacting Major League Baseball.

ROBOT UMPIRES: Computer technology to appeal ball/strike calls could be in place for the 2026 regular season, and Manfred said use of the Automated Ball-Strike System was likely to be considered by the 11-man competition committee, which includes six management representatives.

During a spring training experiment in 288 games, teams were successful on 52.2% of their ball/strike challenges using the Automated Ball-Strike System.

«I do think that we're going to pursue the