Trump and MLB Boss Rob Manfred Meet at White House as Pete Rose Debate Heats Up
Sarah Johnson
April 19, 2025
Brief
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred met privately with President Trump at the White House amid controversy over Pete Rose's Hall of Fame exclusion and ongoing baseball debates.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred dropped by the White House on Wednesday for a private meeting with President Donald Trump, according to Major League Baseball. The specifics of their conversation remain under wraps, but the timing has set off plenty of speculation in the baseball world.
While the White House is keeping quiet about the details, MLB confirmed that Manfred was pleased to discuss "issues pertaining to baseball" with Trump, who’s always been vocal about his love for the sport. And let’s be honest—no one shows up at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue just to chat about peanuts and Cracker Jack.
The meeting comes as debate swirls over Pete Rose’s lingering exclusion from the Baseball Hall of Fame. Trump, who’s never been shy with his opinions, recently blasted MLB on social media for keeping Rose out of Cooperstown, even after the legendary hitter’s death last September at age 83. In a fiery Truth Social post, Trump called Rose "a FAR BETTER PLAYER than most of those who made it" and slammed the league for denying him the honor.
Trump didn’t stop there. He announced plans to sign a complete pardon for Rose, arguing that while the former Cincinnati Reds star did gamble on baseball, he only bet on his own team to win. According to Trump, Rose’s record—an MLB-best 4,256 career hits, 17 All-Star selections, three World Series rings, and a National League MVP title—should have been more than enough for Hall of Fame induction. Instead, he’s been sidelined since 1989, when he received a lifetime ban for betting on games.
Meanwhile, the world of baseball has been buzzing with other controversies, too. The Trump-Manfred meeting came just after a Department of Defense feature story on Jackie Robinson’s military service briefly vanished from the agency’s website, only to be restored a day later. MLB had just celebrated the 78th anniversary of Robinson breaking the league's color barrier, a reminder of how the sport’s history is always up for debate—sometimes in the most unexpected places.
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Editor's Comments
You have to love that in baseball, the past is never really past—especially when politics get involved. The Pete Rose saga is like the sport’s version of 'Groundhog Day,' except instead of a groundhog we’ve got a guy with 4,256 hits and a betting slip. Only in America could a presidential pardon become the hottest ticket to Cooperstown. Maybe next, they'll debate if hot dogs should be allowed in the Hall of Fame too.
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