Heyman: Rob Manfred Will 'Seriously Consider' Reinstating Pete Rose
BOSTON (CBS) - CBS Sports Major League Baseball insider Jon Heyman made his weekly appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub's Zolak & Bertrand show Tuesday afternoon.
One of the major topics surrounding the sport at the moment is baseball's all time hits leader Pete Rose, and the possibility of being reinstated under new commissioner Rob Manfred.
Rose gambled on games while managing the Cincinnati Reds in the 1980s, and after an investigation into his misdeeds found the charges to be accurate, Rose was suspended from baseball in August of 1989. Rose applied for reinstatement in 1992, and has campaigned for his inclusion ever since only to be denied.
But Bud Selig is retired now, and many believe Rob Manfred will lift the banishment more than 25 years later.
"I think [Rose's] chances with Selig were zero, as we know now. Selig was very close with [former commissioner] Bart Giamatti and there were times when I thought Bud might consider it, but he never did," Heyman said of Rose's reinstatement.
"I do think Manfred is going to seriously consider this. He hasn't signaled that he's going to let him back, but there's a lot of sympathy for Pete Rose around the game. I'm not sure that's going to be the determining factor, but I wouldn't be surprised if he let him back in."
"I personally think that Pete Rose should be in the Baseball Hall Of Fame. I understand the punishment. It was a deserved, long punishment. He broke the rules when he bet on games as the manager of the Reds, but I think 26 years is a long enough punishment by itself."
Listen below for the full conversation with Jon Heyman, where he touches on Joe Kelly's arm, Jon Lester in Chicago, Will Middlebrooks in San Diego and much more!