When longtime first baseman, third baseman and outfielder Pete Rose died on Sept. 30 at the age of 83, baseball fans immediately began discussing whether Rose would eventually make it into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Rose has been banned from baseball since 1989, per the terms of an agreement he cut with commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti amid allegations that Rose bet on the Cincinnati Reds while managing them. Per Hall of Fame rules, players on MLB's permanently ineligible list cannot be inducted.
On Tuesday, John Condit—a former sportscaster for WHIO-TV in Dayton, Ohio—revealed that the question was on Rose's mind shortly before his death. On Fox & Friends, Condit showed clips from a conversation he had with Rose on Sept. 20.
"I've come to the conclusion—I hope I'm wrong—that I'll make the Hall of Fame after I die,'' Rose said. "Which I totally disagree with, because the Hall of Fame is for two reasons: your fans and your family. That's what the Hall of Fame is for. Your fans and your family."
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred is said to be considering a petition that would reinstate the sport's all-time leader in hits.
"What good is it going to do me or my fans if they put me in the Hall of Fame couple years after I pass away?" Rose told Condit. "What's the point? What's the point? Because they'll make money over it?''
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Pete Rose Discussed Potential HOF Induction in Interview Shortly Before Death.
