Pete Rose has submitted reinstatement request, Rob Manfred says

Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred told reporters Monday that he has received a formal reinstatement request from Pete Rose, baseball’s hit king.

“I do have a formal request from Pete. I will be in communications with his representatives,” Manfred said, according to CBS Sports. “I’m prepared to deal with that request on its merits.”

News of the request comes after Rose told USA Today last month that he hoped to talk to Manfred about having his lifetime ban from baseball lifted someday.

“I wish I could tell that I know what he’ll do,’’ Rose said, “but I’ve never met him. I’ve never seen him.

“But I’d love to talk to him.’’

Rose was banned from baseball in 1989 for betting on games, and his chance to get into the Baseball Hall of Fame evaporated when the Baseball Writers Assn. of America later voted to bar players on the permanently ineligible list.

Even if Rose were reinstated by Manfred, there’s no guarantee he would be considered for enshrinement into the hall of fame.

Rose, 73, has applied for reinstatement twice before -- once under Commissioner Fay Vincent’s tenure and another time during successor Bud Selig’s watch -- but neither application was approved.

Rose retired in 1986 following a 24-year career with the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies and Montreal Expos. His 4,256 career hits seemingly made him a lock for the Hall of Fame until an MLB investigation found that, as a manager, he bet on 52 games in 1987.

In 1990, Rose plead guilty to tax evasion and was sentenced to five months in prison.