After 36 years of being banned from baseball, MLB will reinstate Pete Rose as well as "Shoeless" Joe Jackson from the league’s ineligible list, reported first by ESPN's Don Van Natta Jr. on Tuesday. This decision comes after Rose's family requested the reinstatement in January following the baseball legend's death in September.

Rose hoped for reinstatement for decades, and now he gets his wish posthumously.

With his reinstatement, Rose is able to be considered for a Hall of Fame ballot that would be voted on in Dec. 2027. But, first, he needs to be nominated by the Hall’s Historical Overview Committee to even have his name be on a ballot.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred met with President Donald Trump weeks ago after Trump expressed his desire to pardon Rose. While Manfred stayed hush on the meeting for weeks, he finally announced his decision. He gave more explanation behind the decision in the MLB's statement, with it mostly coming down to the fact that Rose has since died.

"In my view, once an individual has passed away, the purposes of Rule 21 have been served. Obviously, a person no longer with us cannot represent a threat to the integrity of the game. Moreover, it is hard to conceive of a penalty that has more deterrent effect than one that lasts a lifetime with no reprieve. Therefore, I have concluded that permanent ineligibility ends upon the passing of the disciplined individual, and Mr. Rose will be removed from the permanently ineligible list."

Rose's ban began on August 24, 1989 when Rose voluntarily accepted a lifetime ban from baseball commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti due to accusations that he gambled on games while playing for and managing the Cincinnati Reds. He was alleged to have bet on his own team. In 1991, the Baseball Hall of Fame voted to ban everyone on the permanently ineligible list from induction, which barred Rose's selection during his first year of eligibility. Rose admitted in 2004 that he had bet on baseball games, claiming he placed bets with bookies on Reds games as often as five times a week while managing the team in 1987.

"While it is my preference not to disturb decisions made by prior Commissioners, Mr. Rose was not placed on the permanently ineligible list by Commissioner action but rather as the result of a 1989 settlement of potential litigation with the Commissioner's Office," Manfred wrote. "My decision today is consistent with Commissioner Giamatti's expectations of that agreement."

Rose pushed for reinstatement multiple times before his death last year. He first applied in 1997, but commissioner Bud Selig never issued a ruling. Rose then applied again in 2015, but Manfred rejected the reinstatement during his first year as commissioner.

During his playing career, Rose became one of the most accomplished baseball stars in history. Over the course of his 24-year career, he racked up 17 All-Star bids, three batting titles, two Gold Gloves, National League MVP (1973) and three World Series titles with the Reds in 1975 and '76 and with the Philadelphia Phillies in '80. He retired after 1986 as MLB's all-time leader in hits (4,256), singles (3,215), games played (3,562), at-bats (14,053), and plate appearances (15,890).

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred Explains Why He Reinstated Pete Rose.

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