Pete Rose again asks Manfred for reinstatement, wants HOF chance

Pete Rose is again trying to get back into baseball's good graces.

Major League Baseball's hit king sent a new letter petitioning for reinstatement to commissioner Rob Manfred this week, according to TMZ. Rose was famously banned from baseball in 1989 after he was found to have bet on games while managing the Cincinnati Reds.

In the letter, which was obtained by TMZ, the 81-year-old noted that he's apologized multiple times for betting on baseball and then denying that he'd done so. He also expressed that regaining eligibility for the Hall of Fame would mean a great deal to him.

"I am writing today for three reasons," the letter reads in part. "First, because at my age, I want to be 100% sure that you understand how much I mean it when I say that I'm sorry. Second, to ask for your forgiveness. And third, because I still think every day about what it would mean to be considered for the Hall of Fame.

"... I also know that I disappointed many Reds fans and baseball fans. Besides spending time with my kids and my partner, there's nothing that made me happier than playing baseball in front of fans. That I let them down and brought shame to the sport we all love is something I think about every single day."

Manfred has yet to respond to Rose, according to TMZ.

Rose was on the fast track to Cooperstown before the betting scandal, tallying 4,256 hits during his 24-year career with the Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, and Montreal Expos. "Charlie Hustle" also won three batting titles, three World Series championships, and the 1973 NL MVP.

Because he's on MLB's permanently ineligible list, Rose isn't eligible for election to the Hall of Fame. The Hall, which is officially a private entity, first voted to remove those on the ineligible list from consideration in 1991 and reaffirmed that decision in 2017, shortly after Rose petitioned the museum directly.

Rose has made several attempts at reinstatement since being banned, including a 2015 request that Manfred denied. He applied once again in 2020, citing the penalties handed to the Houston Astros for their illegal sign-stealing as precedent for overturning his ban.

Rose has been allowed to make a few sporadic appearances at MLB events over the years, including the All-Century Team ceremony in 1999 and the retiring of his No. 14 in Cincinnati.