President Trump inserted himself into the debate surrounding former Major League Baseball player Pete Rose, saying he should be inducted into the hall of fame.
“Pete Rose played Major League Baseball for 24 seasons, from 1963-1986, and had more hits, 4,256, than any other player (by a wide margin). He gambled, but only on his own team winning, and paid a decades long price. GET PETE ROSE INTO THE BASEBALL HALL OF FAME. It’s Time!” Trump tweeted Saturday.
Pete Rose played Major League Baseball for 24 seasons, from 1963-1986, and had more hits, 4,256, than any other player (by a wide margin). He gambled, but only on his own team winning, and paid a decades long price. GET PETE ROSE INTO THE BASEBALL HALL OF FAME. It’s Time!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 8, 2020
Rose, who is the all-time hits leader, was an all-star during his 24 seasons as a player and five seasons as a manager, but was penalized in 1989 with penalized with permanent ineligibility from baseball over accusations that he bet on games that he participated in while he was a player and manager for the Cincinnati Reds.
However, Rose has revived his bid to have his name removed from Major League Baseball’s ineligible list in light of a new cheating scandal that has ensnared the Houston Astros and other teams.
In a petition sent to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred and obtained by ESPN, Rose and his attorneys argued that Manfred chose not to punish players accused of game-changing rules infractions and should thus end Rose’s ban.
“There cannot be one set of rules for Mr. Rose and another for everyone else,” the petition reads. “No objective standard or categorization of the rules violations committed by Mr. Rose can distinguish his violations from those that have incurred substantially less severe penalties from Major League Baseball.”
Trump has attended several sporting events in recent months.
He was booed at Nationals Park in October during Game 5 of the World Series between the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros.
Trump has not been shy to wade into controversial areas.
Last month, in an unprecedented move, Trump pardoned war crimes charges against three U.S. military service members.
The decision provoked opposition from former military leaders and many veterans.