Former Chicago White Sox great 'Shoeless' Joe Jackson, Pete Rose and more reinstated by MLB
Former White Sox great Shoeless Joe Jackson reinstated by MLB
According to ESPN, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has reinstated a list of players from the MLBs permanent ineligible list on Tuesday, including a White Sox legend.
CHICAGO - Major League Baseball has reportedly passed a groundbreaking decision on past baseball legends.
According to ESPN, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred reinstated a list of 17 players from the MLB's permanent ineligible list on Tuesday. Among that list of players are Pete Rose and Chicago White Sox great "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, who were posthumously reinstated.
Both Rose and Jackson became MLB pariahs with their connections to different baseball gambling incidents.
In all, the MLB lifted lifetime bans from: Eddie Cicotte, Happy Felsch, Chick Gandil, Joe Jackson, Fred McMullin, Swede Risberg, Buck Weaver, Lefty Williams, Joe Gedeon, Gene Paulette, Benny Kauff, Lee Magee, Phil Douglas, Cozy Dolan, Jimmy O’Connell, William Cox and Pete Rose.
"Commissioner Robert D. Manfred Jr. today issued a policy decision regarding the status of individuals who have passed away while on the permanently ineligible list," Major League Baseball said in a written statement. "This issue has never been formally addressed by Major League Baseball, but an application filed by the family of Pete Rose has made it incumbent upon the Office of the Commissioner to reach a policy decision on this unprecedented issue in the modern era as Mr. Rose is the first person banned after the tenure of Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis to die while still on the ineligible list. Commissioner Manfred has concluded that MLB’s policy shall be that permanent ineligibility ends upon the passing of the disciplined individual."
The Baseball Hall of Fame said Tuesday the Hall of Fame candidacy for Jackson, Rose and the other reinstated players will be immediately considered.
"The National Baseball Hall of Fame has always maintained that anyone removed from Baseball’s permanently ineligible list will become eligible for Hall of Fame consideration," Hall of Fame Chairman of the Board Jane Forbes said in a statement. "Major League Baseball’s decision to remove deceased individuals from the permanently ineligible list will allow for the Hall of Fame candidacy of such individuals to now be considered."
The backstory:
Jackson was banned from MLB and from the Baseball Hall of Fame due to his association with the Black Sox Scandal of 1919.
Jackson was banned from Major League's and from the Hall of Fame by then-Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis in 1920 when it was found that members of the 1919 Chicago White Sox participated in a conspiracy to fix the 1919 World Series.
The Sox were accused of intentionally losing the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds. In exchange for throwing games, the Sox allegedly took payments from a gambling syndicate.
In the 1919 World Series, Jackson led both the Reds and Sox in several statistical categories and set a World Series record with 12 base hits. Jackson died on December 5, 1951.
"Major League Baseball’s decision today allows for 17 players, including eight members of the 1919 White Sox team, to now be eligible for consideration for the Hall of Fame," the White Sox said in a statement to FOX 32 Chicago. "These players will have the opportunity to be considered by the Hall of Fame’s Classic Era Committee in December 2027, and the White Sox trust that the process currently in place will thoughtfully evaluate each player’s contributions to the game."
Rose, the MLB's all-time leader in hits, died on September 30, 2024. It was reported in April the MLB was considering reinstating Rose after Manfred met with President Donald Trump.
Monument Moment: Historical facts about White Sox, Cubs stadiums
With the temperatures steadily rising more and more, baseball fans are coming to watch their favorite teams in Chicago. In tonight's Monument Moment, Dane Placko shares with us some historic details about the Cubs and White Sox.
What's next:
Now, the Baseball Hall of Fame has begun a process to honor the reinstated players.
"The Historical Overview Committee will develop the ballot of eight names for the Classic Baseball Era Committee – which evaluates candidates who made their greatest impact on the game prior to 1980 – to vote on when it meets next in December 2027," Clark said in a statement.
It remains to be seen how the White Sox plan to view the MLB's reinstatement of Jackson.
The reinstatement is a clear shift in how the league views the topic of sports gambling in baseball, now. Gambling, once considered the most heinous act in baseball, has seen two of its biggest pariahs absolved by the league.