Pete Rose passed away last Monday. Speculation immediately began that he now would be eligible for the Hall of Fame since, with his death, his lifetime banishment was over.

Rose is still among several people on baseball’s list of ineligibles. People do not automatically drop off that list when they pass away, and the Hall of Fame prohibits anyone on the ineligible list from being on their ballot. So, for now, Rose, in death, is no closer to being in the Hall of Fame than he was before last Monday.

There are several people on the permanently ineligible list. Other than Rose, the most famous of them are the eight players whom Commissioner Kenesaw Moutain Landis banished for conspiring to throw the 1919 World Series. Of those eight players, only two–pitcher Eddie Cicotte and outfielder “Shoeless” Joe Jackson–played the requisite 10 seasons to qualify to be included on the Hall of Fame ballot. Of all the otherwise qualified players on the ineligible list, only Rose, Cicotte, and Jackson are worthy of consideration.

Cicotte pitched 14 seasons in the major leagues. He was 209-148 with a career earned run average of 2.38. He pitched 249 complete games and 35 shutouts. Cicotte was the first pitcher to throw the knuckleball as his primary pitch. He had the same number of wins as Don Drysdale and more wins than 31 of the 88 pitchers in the Hall of Fame, including Hal Newhouser (207), Bob Lemon (207), and Roy Halladay (203). Only 11 pitchers in the Hall of Fame have a lower career ERA than Cicotte. (One them is Babe Ruth (2.28)).

Jackson played 13 seasons in the major leagues. His career batting average was .356. Of players from the American and National Leagues in the Hall of Fame, Jackson’s average ranks third behind only Ty Cobb (.366) and Rogers Hornsby (.358). He hit 54 home runs during the Deadball Era.

That brings us back to Pete Rose. He was the NL Rookie of the Year in 1963 and the NL Most Valuable Player in 1973. Rose famously got more hits, 4256, than any other player in the history of Major League Baseball. He also holds the record for playing in the most games (3,562), most plate appearances (15,890), and most at-bats (14,053). Rose won the National League batting title in 1968, 1969, and 1973. He was on three World Series Championship teams: 1976 and 1977 with the Cincinnati Reds and 1980 with the Philadelphia Phillies. Rose played in 17 All-Star games.

Even though Rose voluntarily accepted his ban, he went on a 15-year campaign of denying he bet on baseball. He finally admitted to betting on baseball, but still maintained he never bet on the Reds. He finally admitted that while he did bet on the Reds, he always bet on them to win. Rather than admitting his mistakes and apologizing for them, Rose thumbed his nose at MLB and played the victim.

Rose continually shot himself in the foot when given the opportunity to put his best foot forward. In 2022, the Phillies had him in the television booth during the live broadcast of a game on the night they were celebrating their 1980 World Series team. Rose told stories using language that would have shocked most sailors.

I think it’s time to put all the otherwise qualified players on the ineligible list who have passed away on the Hall of Fame ballot, and then let the voters decide whether they should be in the Hall. What good does it do to put restrictions on people once they have died?

(All statistics are from Baseball Reference.)