long overdue change of policy

[milagros317]

https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-ineligibility-status-after-death-decision

This is long overdue.
Even Judge Landis, who was notoriously harsh on players who misbehaved, only banned the Black Sox (players who accepted cash from gamblers to purposely lose the World Series) "for life." He did not ban them "for all eternity."

One of the Black Sox, "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, has been dead for 74 years. It's about time that, on the basis of his playing record, he be put into the Hall of Fame.
Some highlights of Jackson's record:
For his 13-year MLB career (1908-1920), BA .356, OBP .423, SLG .517, OPS .940
His best year was 1911 with Cleveland when he had BA .408, OBP .468, SLG .590, OPS 1.058
A freak stat: He lead the AL with 26 triples in 1912, one of 3 years in which he lead the AL in triples.

 

[Barbershopman]

Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred wrote to the attorney who petitioned for Rose's reinstatement: "Obviously, a person no longer with us cannot represent a threat to the integrity of the game," adding, "Moreover, it is hard to conceive of a penalty that has more deterrent effect than one that lasts a lifetime with no reprieve."

Now, this is only half the battle as it only reinstates their eligibility, it is now up to the baseball writers to vote them in. It will be interesting to see if they (the writers) decide to accept them in. If it were up to me, I'd vote Rose and all eight of the Black Sox in.

Similar to Rose, Alex Karras and Paul Hornung bet on football games while playing but this did not deter their election into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

This also brings up a conundrum of eligible members of the PED era. Although this was not illegal at the time, they definitely represented a threat to the integrity of the game. It's probably going to take some time to soften the feelings of the writers before the eligible of the PED era are elected to the HOF.

Barbershopman