If a player is dead, then they are no longer on the ineligible list.
Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson are now eligible to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York as MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has decided since they are dead they don’t belong on baseball’s ineligible list. “In my view, once an individual has passed away, the purposes of Rule 21 have been served. Obviously, a person no longer with us cannot represent a threat to the integrity of the game,” Manfred wrote. “Moreover, it is hard to conceive of a penalty that has more deterrent effect than one that lasts a lifetime with no reprieve. Therefore, I have concluded that permanent ineligibility ends upon the passing of the disciplined individual, and Mr. Rose will be removed from the permanently ineligible list.”
Rose violated Rule 21, which was implemented after eight Chicago White Sox including Jackson were accused of throwing the 1919 World Series, that basically throws a player out for gambling or not telling baseball officials that the player knew about gambling plans. Eddie Cicotte, Happy Felsch, Chick Gandil, Fred McMullin, Swede Risberg, Buck Weaver, Lefty Williams, who were members of the 1919 White Sox have been reinstated. Gene Paulette and Joe Gedeon, who allegedly knew of the 1919 White Sox players plot but never told baseball officials they knew of the plot, were reinstated. Benny Kauff, Lee Magee, Phil Douglas, Cozy Dolan, Jimmy O’Connell and William Cox are all back in Manfred’s good graces. During the early days of baseball a number of individuals were tossed out for gambling. One Hall of Famer somehow escaped punishment. John McGraw bet on the team he was managing, the New York Giants, to win the 1905 World Series. McGraw boasted of taking home $400, which would be about $14,000 today, after his team won. There was no scrutiny of McGraw in 1905.
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