Pete Rose is headed into the team hall of fame in his hometown, the Cincinnati Reds said Tuesday.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991 adopted a rule keeping anyone on the permanently ineligible list off the ballot. Rose said after Manfred’s decision that he still held out hope he would one day be inducted into the national hall.
Reds’ chief executive Bob Castellini said in a statement that inducting Rose into the Reds’ hall will be “a defining moment” in franchise history.
“He is one of the greatest players to ever wear a Reds uniform and it will be an unforgettable experience watching him being honored as such,” he said.
The club’s hall of fame board chose Rose as the sole inductee for this year. Ken Griffey Jr., who will be inducted into the national Hall of Fame this summer, was among the latest inductees to the Reds’ hall, which has 85 members.
It already has much of the 1975-76 “Big Red Machine” world champion team including the late manager Sparky Anderson. Rose will be the last inductee from the starting eight of Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Tony Perez, David Concepcion, George Foster, Cesar Geronimo and Ken Griffey Sr.