MLB removes deceased players from permanent ineligible list

General announcement here and letter from MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred to Pete Rose's attorney here. The decision covers Pete Rose, Shoeless Joe and the other Black Sox, and eight other players.

MLB's position has been that permanent ineligibility ends upon death. In the letter to Rose's attorney, Manfred explained that a dead person no longer threatens the integrity of the game and thus his continuance on the list does not serve the purposes of Rule 21. His new move was affirmatively removing Rose and other dead persons from the list, a move to align MLB's rules with the Hall of Fame rule regarding Hall eligibility of people on MLB's list. Because Rose, Jackson, et al. no longer on MLB's list, they are eligible for Hall consideration. The Hall announced that the players would be considered by Classic Baseball Era Committee (pre-1980) for 2027 voting and 2028 induction.

I remained in the no-Hall camp for Rose until his death last fall. But I can live with posthumous induction: "Rose becomes part of the baseball story for all time but does not receive the honors and prestige of--and opportunity to monetize--being a living Hall Member."