Rose asks for reinstatement in wake of punishments against Astros
Major League Baseball's all-time hits leader Pete Rose filed a reinstatement petition Wednesday with the league and Hall of Fame based on recent penalties handed down to the Houston Astros for illegally stealing signs, according to Don Van Natta Jr. of ESPN.
Ray Genco, one of Rose’s lawyers, confirmed that a 20-page document was delivered to MLB, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
The league has received the petition and will review it, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.
Rose has served a lifetime ban since 1989 for gambling on baseball while managing the Cincinnati Reds. His lawyers argue that commissioner Rob Manfred should remove him from the ineligible list because the league didn't punish the Astros players that cheated.
"There cannot be one set of rules for Mr. Rose and another for everyone else," the petition states, according to Van Natta. "No objective standard or categorization of the rules violations committed by Mr. Rose can distinguish his violations from those that have incurred substantially less severe penalties from Major League Baseball."
Houston was fined $5 million, lost its first- and second-round draft picks in the next two drafts, and then-manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow were suspended for one year and subsequently fired.
"It has never been suggested, let alone established, that any of Mr. Rose's actions influenced the outcome of any game or the performance of any player," the document reads. "Yet for the 31st year and counting, he continues to suffer a punishment vastly disproportionate to those who have done just that.
"Given the manner in which Major League Baseball has treated and continues to treat other egregious assaults on the integrity of the game, Mr. Rose's ongoing punishment is no longer justifiable as a proportional response to his transgressions."
The former 17-time All-Star applied for reinstatement in 2015 but his application was rejected by Manfred. Former commissioner Bud Selig also denied an attempt by Rose.
The 78-year-old would qualify for induction consideration into Cooperstown if he was removed from the ineligible list. However, Rose is not eligible under his current ban, even following his death, a Hall of Fame spokesman told Van Natta.