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Pete Rose: I'll stop gambling if that's what MLB wants

Ethan Miller / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Pete Rose is willing to stop gambling if it means MLB will recognize him for the Hall of Fame-level player he is.

A week before he's set to be inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame, the "Hit King" said he'll do whatever it takes to get back into baseball, according to Adam Flango from Cincinnati Magazine.

"Just tell me what you want me to do and I’ll do it," he said. "I’m in control. Just tell me. If you don’t want me to bet on baseball or anything else, just tell me."

In August 1989, Rose was handed a lifetime ban from baseball by then-commissioner Bart Giamatti after he was found to have illegally gambled on baseball.

With new commissioner Rob Manfred at the helm, Rose might've had an opportunity for reinstatement following the Bud Selig era. But Manfred ultimately rejected Rose's attempt to come back to baseball, and despite collecting the most hits in MLB history with 4256, he's still ineligible for the Hall of Fame.

But Rose, an avid gambler on more than just baseball, said although he still risks his money for entertainment purposes, he does it all on the books.

"Here's what you have to understand: I didn't get in trouble for gambling," he said. "I got in trouble for illegal gambling, which is a big difference. And like I said, I do no more illegal gambling. That's the last thing in the world I'd ever do.

"I'll never associate with a bookmaker again."

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