Rob Manfred and President Donald Trump held a meeting at the White House on Wednesday, an MLB spokesperson confirmed to the Washington Post.
“President Trump is a longtime fan of baseball. As he has done in the past, Commissioner Manfred was pleased to visit the White House again to discuss issues pertaining to baseball with the President,” MLB said in a statement.
Although the specifics of their meeting have not been made clear, the visit from Manfred comes shortly after Trump’s comments about MLB’s all-time hits leader, Pete Rose.
On Feb. 28, Trump, 78, said that he was planning to issue a posthumous pardon to Rose — who died at 83 in September — and posted the news on social media.
“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 posted on Truth Social then.
Trump did not make clear what exactly he would pardon Rose for, as the 17-time All-Star was not convicted of a crime for gambling on MLB games.
Rose pleaded guilty to tax evasion and served five months in prison in 1990, but Trump has not specifically mentioned this conviction when referring to a pardon.
Manfred, 66, announced that the MLB was considering a petition that would make Rose eligible for the hall of fame on March 1, less that 24 hours after Trump’s statement.
This most recent development comes as a significant change of opinion from Manfred, who has previously made clear that he had zero intentions of giving Rose Hall of Fame consideration.
“I believe that when you bet on baseball, from Major League Baseball’s perspective, you belong on the permanently ineligible list,” Manfred said in November 2022, according to The Athletic. “When I dealt with the issue, the last time he applied for reinstatement, I made clear that I didn’t think that the function of that baseball list was the same as the eligibility criteria for the Hall of Fame.
“That remains my position. I think it’s a conversation that really belongs in the Hall of Fame board. I’m on that board, and it’s just not appropriate for me to get in front of that conversation.”
Trump has criticized the MLB for placing Rose on its ineligible list, meaning that Rose is disqualified from entering the Baseball Hall of Fame.
“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!” Trump wrote on Truth Social in February.
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