Pete Rose will reportedly remain banned from Major League Baseball

By JOHN DORN

Major League Baseball's transition to Rob Manfred's regime as commissioner has come with speculation that the league's all-time hit leader, Pete Rose, would have a new chance at having his lifelong ban lifted. That speculation can officially come to a close, according to a report.

Michael S. Schmidt of the New York Times reported Monday that Manfred has decided to keep Rose's suspension in place, leaving him ineligible to be voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

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Manfred, who took over as league commissioner when Bud Selig retired in January, met with Rose three months ago in Manhattan to discuss the 74-year-old's future with the league.

Rose had been much more prominent around MLB events, such as World Series and All-Star Games, over recent years, leading to chatter that the league was considering opening its doors to Rose on a larger scale.

See photos of Pete Rose throughout the years

The ex-Red, Phillie and Expo has been banned from the sport since 1989, when the league concluded that Rose was guilty of betting on MLB games while serving as Cincinnati manager. Following more than a decade of denial, Rose admitted to betting on baseball -- including his own games -- in 2004.

An ESPN Outside the Lines report from June revealed that he bet on games not only as a manager, but during his playing career as well. Rose had previously applied for reinstatement in 1994 and 1997, with Selig and his predecessor Faye Vincent both denying his re-entry into the league.

According to the Timesreport, Manfred still wasn't convinced during their September meeting that Rose was completely forthcoming about his gambling during his MLB career as a manager and player.

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