Yes, he admitted in 2004, after almost 15 years of denials, he had placed bets on baseball, but he insisted it was only as a manager. The three-page decision both reiterated the importance of Rule 21 and made it clear Manfred does not think that Rose has "reconfigured" his life as former Commissioner Bart Giamatti urged him to do in 1989. • Justice: No other choice but to maintain Rose's ban 
 
 The National Baseball Hall of Fame later addressed the situation in a statement: "Pete Rose remains ineligible for Hall of Fame consideration, based on the Hall of Fame's bylaws, which preclude any individual on baseball's ineligible list from being considered a candidate for election." The all-time hits leader, 74, was placed on the permanently ineligible list for violating Major League Baseball's strict rule against betting on baseball on Aug. 23, 1989. • But on 21 of the days it's clear he bet on baseball, he gambled on the Reds, including on games in which he played. Commissioner Manfred's full decision on Pete Rose's reinstatement bid 
 
 "I, therefore, must reject Mr. Rose's application for reinstatement." In fact, in my view, the considerations that should drive a decision on whether an individual should be allowed to work in Baseball are not the same as those that should drive a decision on Hall of Fame eligibility. "He wasn't forthcoming with much information," she said, "but he did acknowledge to me it was records of bets he made for Pete Rose."
– The MLB player with the most hits in the league's history should be a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame, but that's hard to do when you've been permanently banned from baseball—again. Commissioner Rob Manfred was reportedly set to tell Pete Rose on Thursday he won't lift the permanent ban against Rose that's been in place since 1989, but queries by the New York Times appeared to expedite Manfred's announcement, which he made Monday instead. MLB.com notes Manfred informed Rose, both verbally and in writing, of his decision. The "stark language" of the league's rules dictates "that the penalty for a player or manager who bets on a game in which he has a duty to perform is mandatory, permanent ineligibility," Manfred says in his announcement accompanying the MLB press release. He adds he had instructed staff to gather any new evidence that may have emerged since the 1989 Dowd Report that helped place Rose on the league's ineligible list, based on evidence Rose bet on baseball while managing the Cincinnati Reds—including bets on his own team. In addition to a polygraph test and a private meeting between Rose and Manfred in September, that new evidence included an incriminating notebook revealed in a June ESPN report that indicates Rose also bet while still playing for the Reds. Manfred notes that during that conversation, Rose had inconsistent stories, made contradictory statements, and couldn't remember important facts from the Dowd document. Another nugget came to light during Manfred and Rose's meeting that appears to have influenced the decision. "Significantly, [Rose] told me that currently he bets recreationally and legally on horses and sports, including Baseball," Manfred notes. Interestingly, Manfred says that while Rose won't be reinstated, that's an entirely different issue than whether he should be eligible for the Hall of Fame, a debate he says "must take place in a different forum."