President Donald Trump was one of the heavy hitters who helped convince Major League Baseball to reverse slugger Pete Rose’s ban from the Hall of Fame.
According to ESPN, Commissioner Rob Manfred revealed that the president “was one of a number of voices that was supportive of the idea that this was the right decision” while speaking to press during a Wednesday meeting for club owners.
“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,” he added.
Violating one of baseball’s cardinal rules, legendary switch hitter Rose was caught betting on the Cincinnati Reds from 1985 to 1987, during which time he was both on the roster and served as manager.
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The athlete known as “Charlie Hustle” agreed to a ban from the league in 1989, and two years later, the MLB decided those on that list of shame also would be ineligible for Hall of Fame status.
Last month, Manfred announced that deceased athletes and coaches would no longer be beholden to the ban, making it possible for players like Rose and Chicago White Sox icon “Shoeless” Joe Jackson to get nominated for a spot in the MLB’s Cooperstown, New York, Hall of Fame.
“Obviously, a person no longer with us cannot represent a threat to the integrity of the game,” Manfred wrote in a letter to attorney Jeffrey M. Lenkov, who petitioned for Rose to be removed.
Rose, who still has one of the best batting records in all of MLB history, died last September at the age of 83.