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Former MLB star Mo Vaughn expressed his sympathy for Pete Rose and his family because the baseball legend did not get into the Hall of Fame while he was alive.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred posthumously removed Rose from the permanently ineligible list in May 2025, months after his death, allowing Rose to finally be considered for the Baseball Hall of Fame.
“I feel bad for him and his family that now that he has passed on and is in the heavens, that now we’re gonna take him off (the permanently ineligible list),” Vaughn told Fox News Digital in a recent interview.
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(Left) Cincinnati Reds Hall of Famer Pete Rose gives a thumbs up to the fans as he is introduced during a pregame ceremony unveiling his bronze statue outside the stadium before the MLB National League game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, on June 17, 2017. (Right) Former Red Sox player Mo Vaughn walks to the pitcher’s mound before the ceremonial first pitch on Opening Day at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, on April 15, 2022. (IMAGN/Getty Images)
“I love Pete Rose. I think Pete Rose is baseball. I think he exemplifies everything that baseball is.”
The 1995 American League MVP said that Rose should be granted some latitude for his mistakes. Rose became a polarizing figure when news of his gambling on games rocked the sports world, and he received a lifetime ban in 1989.
Rose admitted to gambling in 2004 after years of claiming his innocence.
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Cincinnati Reds Hall of Famer Pete Rose gives a thumbs-up to fans as he is introduced during a pregame ceremony for the unveiling of a bronze statue in his honor before the MLB National League game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio, on June 17, 2017. (IMAGN)
“If there is a guy that I feel should be inducted, should be granted some latitude. And I know, oh, you know, well, you need to apologize. Listen, we all get, we all make mistakes,” Vaughn said. “He didn’t bet against his team. He was betting for his team.”
Vaughn also cited Major League Baseball’s partnerships with gambling companies as another reason Rose should be inducted.
Rose is MLB’s hit king with 4,256 career hits. He was the National League MVP in 1974 and was a 17-time All-Star, a three-time World Series champion and a three-time batting champion.
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Former Red Sox player Mo Vaughn walks to the pitcher’s mound before the ceremonial first pitch on Opening Day at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, on April 15, 2022. All players are wearing (42) in honor of Jackie Robinson Day. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Vaughn played in the major leagues for 12 seasons. He spent eight with the Boston Red Sox, two with the then-Anaheim Angels and two with the Mets.
The three-time All-Star had a .293 career batting average with 328 home runs and 1,064 RBI. He has a podcast called “The Mo Vaughn Podcast,” which debuted in August. He has interviewed former MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, six-time All-Star Kenny Lofton, and many other former players.
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