It has been three weeks since Rob Manfred reinstated Pete Rose, “Shoeless” Joe Jackson and other deceased players who had been banned from baseball, making them eligible for election into the Hall of Fame.
What has the reaction been like since then?
“I think it is what I expected, to tell you the truth; it was mixed,” he told a small group of reporters on Wednesday after a day of meetings with owners at MLB headquarters in midtown Manhattan.
“Some people, I think, candidly, those who really think about the reasons that I did it, think that it is the right decision.
“Other people, I think, largely get confused with whether (Rose) is going to be in the Hall of Fame or not, and maybe don’t think it was so good. But it’s mixed, is what I would say.”
Manfred’s decision does not ensure Rose or anyone else will be elected into the Hall, and that ruling is years away, presumably the next time the Classic Era Baseball Committee meets in December of 2027 for the induction Class of 2028.
But it has sparked plenty of debate, and came after an intervention by President Donald Trump, who lobbied Manfred to reinstate Rose. Trump spoke to Manfred in April. Rose died in September.
“The President was one of a number of voices that was supportive of the idea that this was the right decision,” Manfred said when asked whether Trump’s view had influenced him.
“Obviously, I have respect for the office and the advice that he gave I paid attention to. But I had a lot of other people that were weighing in on the topic as well.”
Rose, who was found to have bet on baseball while playing for and managing the Reds from 1985-87, was placed on the permanently ineligible list in 1989, after a settlement with then commissioner Bart Giamatti.
Two years later, the Hall of Fame deemed those on the banned list ineligible.
Manfred decided in May that “lifetime” bans should expire when the person involved dies.
Absent their ties to gambling, Rose and Jackson — a member of the 1919 White Sox who threw the World Series to the Reds — would be sure-fire Hall of Famers.
Manfred touched on a variety of other topics, including:
• After lauding the fact early season attendance and television ratings are up over last year, Manfred cited several factors, one of which involves the two New York teams.
“It’s hard to ignore this: We’re good in our big markets right now,” he said. “We’ve got two great teams here (in New York). L.A. is great. The Cubs are great.”
The Yankees, Mets, Dodgers and Cubs all were in first place entering Wednesday’s games.
• The flip side of successful big-brand teams is the sport’s deep payroll and performance imbalances.
The White Sox are having their second consecutive poor season and the Rockies have a winning percentage under .200.
“Honestly, the payroll disparity is such a fact of life among the ownership group that there’s not a lot of need for talking about whether we have it or not,” Manfred said. “Everybody kind of gets it. We understand that it has become a bigger problem for us.”
Regarding the Rockies, he said, “I know the owner of the Rockies wishes they were winning more games. I wish they were winning more games. At the end of the day, we sell competition, and we want that competition to be as fierce and even as possible.”
The Rockies swept a three-game series from the Marlins this week to improve to 12-50.
• MLB continues to negotiate with various media partners to a pick up the portion of the television deal that ESPN has opted out of after this season, including Sunday Night Baseball.
Manfred said he hopes to have that settled before the All-Star Game in July.
The priority, he said, will be maximizing broad reach over dollars. Whatever deal or deals are made will run through 2028, at which time all of MLB’s TV contracts will be up.
Several major streaming services are among the bidders for a piece of the MLB pie.
• The Automated Ball-Strike System that MLB experimented with in spring training could become a regular-season reality by next year.
“I do think that we’re going to pursue the possibility of changing that process, and we’ll see what comes out at the end of that,” he said, referencing a committee that is studying the matter.
Manfred said owners have been “really positive” about ABS, which would allow for challenging some ball/strike calls.
Manfred said experiencing ABS in spring training has made many fans less tolerant of human error this season.
“My distinct impression is that using ABS in spring training has made people more prone to complain about balls and strike calls via email to me, referencing the need for ABS,” he said. “That is undoubtedly true.”
• Manfred said MLB remains optimistic repairs to storm-damaged Tropicana Field will allow the Rays to return there either by Opening Day in 2026 or “very shortly thereafter.”
This season the Rays are using the Yankees’ spring training home, Steinbrenner Field in Tampa.
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
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