Rose writes letter to HOF asking to be on future ballots

Pete Rose is making another attempt at reaching the Hall of Fame.

Baseball's career hits leader wrote a seven-page letter to National Baseball Hall of Fame president Jeff Idelson, asking to lift the bylaw that blocks him from being eligible, according to Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports, who obtained the letter.

Rose was placed on baseball's ineligible list in 1989 after an investigator provided then-commissioner Bart Giamatti with strong evidence that Rose bet on multiple games as a manager. Rose accepted the terms of being placed on the list, but the new letter reportedly states that his ineligibility did not include the Hall of Fame.

"At the time Pete agreed to the settlement, the consequences of being placed on the ineligible list were clear and specific - and did not include a Hall of Fame prohibition," it reads.

Current MLB commissioner Rob Manfred upheld Rose's permanent ban from baseball in December 2015, after learning the former Cincinnati Reds star continued to gamble on baseball and other sports.

"Even more troubling, in our (September) interview, Rose initially denied betting on baseball currently and only later in the interview did he 'clarify' his response to admit such betting," Manfred said in a statement.

Brown notes that Rose's letter asked Idelson to separate his actions as a manager and as a player, affording the Baseball Writers' Association of America the opportunity to vote him in if they wish. Currently, Rose isn't even eligible to be on the ballot.

The request, however, was denied by the HOF.

"Pete Rose remains ineligible for Hall of Fame consideration, based on the Hall of Fame's bylaws, which preclude any individual on baseball's ineligible list from being considered for election," Idelson said in a statement to Yahoo Sports.