“Charlie Hustle” would’ve been proud.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred all but admitted that President Donald Trump’s relentless support of baseball legend Pete Rose played a major role in his reinstatement to the sport posthumously.
Rose — whose own relentless hustle on the baseball diamond helped cultivate a Hall of Fame-worthy career — had been suspended from baseball in 1989 after it was found that he had gambled on his own team when he was a manager of the Cincinnati Reds.
That allegation haunted Rose, the all-time major league leader in hits (4,256), games played (3,562), at-bats (14,053) and singles (3,215), and prevented him from ever being eligible for the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Manfred ended that ban after Rose passed away in September, eventually arguing that the “lifetime” part of the ban had been fulfilled.
During Wednesday’s league owners meeting, Manfred spoke to the media and revealed the role Trump played in Rose’s reinstatement.
“The president was one of a number of voices that was supportive of the idea that this was the right decision,” Manfred said, according to the Associated Press.
He added, “Obviously, I have respect for the office and the advice that he gave I paid attention to, but I had a lot of other people that were weighing in on the topic, as well.”
Rose, who is now eligible for the Hall of Fame but must still be voted in, has long been championed by Trump, an avid sports fan.
The president actually posted two separate messages on the topic once Rose died.
Shortly after Rose’s passed away, Trump immediately took to X to comment on it:
The GREAT Pete Rose just died. He was one of the most magnificent baseball players ever to play the game. He paid the price! Major League Baseball should have allowed him into the Hall of Fame many years ago. Do it now, before his funeral! DJT
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2024
“The GREAT Pete Rose just died. He was one of the most magnificent baseball players ever to play the game. He paid the price! Major League Baseball should have allowed him into the Hall of Fame many years ago,” Trump posted. “Do it now, before his funeral!”
Months later at the end of February — and just a couple scant months before Manfred reinstated Rose — the president took to his very own Truth Social to again press the issue and direct much more pointed fury at the MLB:
“Major League Baseball didn’t have the courage or decency to put the late, great, Pete Rose, also known as ‘Charlie Hustle,’ into the Baseball Hall of fame,” Trump posted. “Now he is dead, will never experience the thrill of being selected, even though he was a FAR BETTER PLAYER than most of those who made it, and can only be named posthumously.
“WHAT A SHAME!”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
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