Donald Trump said Friday he would posthumously pardon Pete Rose, the baseball great who was banned for life for betting on games and later jailed for tax evasion. The US president also reiterated his call for Rose -- who died last year aged 83 and was Major League Baseball's all-time hit king -- to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
"Over the next few weeks I will be signing a complete PARDON of Pete Rose, who shouldn't have been gambling on baseball, but only bet on HIS TEAM WINNING," Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
"Baseball, which is dying all over the place, should get off its fat, lazy ass, and elect Pete Rose, even though far too late, into the Baseball Hall of Fame!" he added.
Nicknamed "Charlie Hustle" for his hard-charging effort and dogged determination, Rose set MLB career records including 4,256 hits. But he left the sport in disgrace when he was permanently banned from American baseball in 1989 for gambling on games as a manager for the Cincinnati Reds.
Two years later, the Baseball Hall of Fame voted to exclude consideration of players on the permanent ban list, making Rose unable to join the shrine of legends.
Rose denied for years that he had gambled on baseball but in 2004 admitted he bet on Reds games, saying he always bet on his team to win, never on them to lose.
The baseball star also spent five months in prison in 1990 and early 1991 for tax evasion.
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