"He's a massive di*khead & a literal pedophile": Fans frustrated by MLB commissioner’s reported Pete Rose decision a day after Donald Trump's comments

President Donald Trump shocked baseball fans worldwide by declaring that he plans to pardon the late Pete Rose. Trump also criticized Major League Baseball for keeping Rose out of the Hall of Fame.

According to CNN, Trump will be looking to issue a full pardon to Pete Rose, who passed away in September of last year. In the meantime, MLB commission Rob Manfred is also reportedly considering a posthumous lift on Rose’s ban.

Now, fans have taken to social to express their frustration at the reported pardon:

“He's a massive di*head and a literal pedophile. He's dead. Just let him fade into obscurity,” a fan commented on Reddit.

"He's a massive di*khead & a literal pedophile": Fans frustrated by MLB commissioner’s reported Pete Rose decision a day after Donald Trump's comments

“He sure loves cheaters and criminals,” this fan commented on X in response to a Yahoo! Sports report.

“One tax felon helping another,” another fan commented on Yahoo! Sports’ report.

Some other fans took to X to question President Trump’s priorities as pardoning Rose isn’t precisely within the President’s purview. Here’s what some of these fans stated on X in reply to a Yahoo! Sports report:

“A president can’t pardon somebody from a ban from a professional sports league lmao,” a fan weighed in.

“Why didn't he do it from 2017-2021 when he was alive?” another fan chimed in.

“Glad he is focusing on the important things,” another fan remarked.

It remains to be seen if President Trump will follow through on his word. In the meantime, it will be up to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred to determine if the time has come to remove Pete Rose from the ineligible list.keepwill determine whether it is time

Looking at Pete Rose’s potential path to Cooperstown

MLB banned Pete Rose in 1989 following an investigation into alleged gambling while Rose was a player-manager with the Cincinnati Reds. The ban made him ineligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame.

In 1990, Rose pled guilty to tax evasion charges, making the conviction a tacit admission that he had bet on baseball games during his big-league career.

MLB’s all-time hit king would have easily gained entry into the Hall. However, the Baseball Writer’s Association of America (BBWAA) could not vote on an ineligible player. As such, Rose never got enshrinement into Cooperstown.

While Rose was never formally convicted of betting against his team, only in favor of his team winning, MLB upheld the ban for decades even after Rose publicly admitted his role in the gambling allegations.

Despite intense public lobbying, Rose never managed to sway MLB to lift the ban. Current commissioner Manfred is reportedly considering Rose’s family’s plea to clear his name from the ineligible list.

However, there’s no telling if doing so could sway voters to elect Rose to the Hall of Fame. If the ban is lifted before the Hall of Fame’s Veteran’s Committee meets in December this year, Rose could be eligible for inclusion in the Hall’s 2026 class.

Otherwise, the Classic Baseball Era committee could decide on Rose’s fate in December of 2027 for inclusion in the 2028 class.