Sources: Selig won't lift ban on Rose
Pete Rose will be barred from baseball and the Hall of Fame for as long as Bud Selig is commissioner, sources close to Selig predicted Monday in the aftermath of a report that said Selig was softening his stance on the disgraced all-time hits leader.
Following a weekend in which Hank Aaron publicly stumped for Rose's reinstatement from a ban that began in August 1989, the New York Daily News reported Selig was considering heeding the sentiments of respected Hall of Famers that Rose's candidacy be opened to the Veterans Committee.
However, those familiar with the commissioner's thinking said Selig was no closer to lifting the ban, saying no players current or former lobbied the commissioner over the weekend and that, indeed, Selig dined with Aaron and the subject of Rose did not come up.
Selig, whose contract runs through 2012, addressed the Rose issue during a meeting with the Baseball Writers Association of America and gave no indication that – coming up on the 20th anniversary of Rose's banishment – he'd had a change of heart.
Selig did not return a message left Monday at his Milwaukee office.
Rose was permanently banned from baseball for betting on games while playing for and managing the Cincinnati Reds and has never been eligible for the Hall of Fame. He later admitted to gambling in his autobiography.
