|
Rose's 'return'
Despite ban, Rose will appear at Turner Field
Posted: Saturday October 23, 1999 08:32 AM
| |
Pete Rose is major league baseball's all-time hits leader with 4,256. William Hart/Allsport |
ATLANTA (CNN/SI) -- Ten years ago, Pete Rose was banned from the sport that was his life. This weekend, he gets to make a return, even if it is only for a day. Baseball suspended Rose for life after the league determined he bet on games including the team he was managing at the time, the Cincinnati Reds.
Even though Rose has been barred from every stadium and league venue since 1989, "Charlie Hustle" has been granted special permission to be on hand at Turner Field on Sunday prior to Game 2 of the World Series.
Rose will be taking part in ceremonies honoring baseball's All-Century Team, which was voted upon this summer by the fans. Twenty-five players were selected and Rose finished ninth among the nine outfielders chosen for the honor. The Associated Press confirmed Rose's selection Wednesday from a league official who asked to remain anonymous.
Fans voted for the century's top 25 players, including nine outfielders, and Rose was consistently ninth in the voting, which ran from July 13-Sept. 19. His election was confirmed Wednesday by a baseball official familiar with the final vote totals, speaking on the condition he not be identified.
Baseball commissioner Bud Selig decided in August that Rose could participate in the All-Century Team if he was elected. Rose, however, was not invited to a luncheon prior to the All-Star game that honored the living members among the 100 on the ballot.
Rose, then manager of the Cincinnati Reds, agreed on Aug. 23, 1989 to a lifetime ban from baseball following an investigation into his gambling, a deal announced the following day by commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti.
Baseball's career hits leader applied for reinstatement in September 1997. While Selig hasn't formally ruled on the application, he's made clear numerous times that he has no intention of lifting the ban.
The All-Century team, which includes five people overlooked by fans and added by a special panel, will be announced Saturday and honored the following day.
As long as he's banned, Rose is ineligible for the Hall of Fame. No person ever permanently banned has ever been reinstated.
| 
