New FBI documents show MLB's Pete Rose investigation began in 1988 - ESPN

Major League Baseball began investigating Pete Rose in 1988, the year before it launched the full-blown, publicly announced probe that resulted in his banishment, according to newly released FBI documents. MLB, however, suspended its investigation at the request of federal law enforcement officials who were investigating Rose's finances at the time.

The documents show that MLB suspected in 1988, months before the public became aware of any investigation, that Rose was betting on baseball and was hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. MLB did not respond to an ESPN request for comment.

In February 1989, MLB hired John Dowd, a former federal prosecutor, to lead its investigation of Rose. The resulting Dowd Report led to Rose's lifetime ban that August for betting on MLB games, including those of his own team. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred lifted Rose's ban this May, eight months after the all-time hit leader's death at age 83, making him eligible for election to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The FBI file casts new light on the timeline for MLB's decision to impose a lifetime ban on Rose for his gambling activity. Rose's entry into the Hall of Fame remains in question despite his record-setting career.

As early as the 1970s, MLB looked into Rose for suspected associations with bookmakers, investigators said years later. But the investigation did not lead to any action against him.

The new information from the FBI is part of its second release of documents in response to a request by ESPN. The bureau publicly releases some records it maintains on individuals, after their deaths, often with redactions. This heavily redacted batch of documents includes 93 deleted pages, although the majority of those listed were labeled as