Schmidt: Pete Rose decision to come in fall

CINCINNATI (AP) -- Baseball commissioner Bud Selig probably will announce some time after the World Series whether he will reinstate Pete Rose, former Rose teammate Mike Schmidt said.

Schmidt said Sunday that he and two of Rose's former teammates on the Cincinnati Reds, Joe Morgan and Johnny Bench, met with Selig last month at the Hall of Fame.

"We're optimistic that after the postseason, something will happen with regards to Pete Rose," said Schmidt, who played with Rose when he later joined the Philadelphia Phillies. His remarks were reported by The Cincinnati Post and The Cincinnati Enquirer.

According to Schmidt, Selig said he would not announce any decision on Rose's status prior to the postseason.

Selig is still evaluating Rose's petition to be reinstated to baseball and there is no deadline for announcement of a decision, Selig spokesman Rich Levin said Monday.

"There's no timetable," Levin said by telephone from New York.

Schmidt and Rose were attending a baseball card collectors' show in Cincinnati on Sunday, where both were autographing memorabilia items. Rose, through his business manager Warren Greene, declined to comment on his status with baseball.

Rose, baseball's all-time career hits leader, agreed to the lifetime ban in 1989 after the sport investigated his gambling. The 17-time All-Star and former National League MVP maintains he never bet on baseball.

The Enquirer also reported that Hall of Famers Tony Perez, Brooks Robinson, Robin Roberts and Gaylord Perry were in Cincinnati on Friday and said they want Rose to acknowledge his actions, even if that means admitting that he bet on Reds games.

Reinstatement would make Rose eligible for the Hall of Fame and could allow him to work in baseball.