Report: Rose bet on baseball as a player


New documents indicate Pete Rose frequently bet on baseball while he was still a player, according to a report by ESPN's Outside the Lines.

Rose was banished for life for betting on games in 1989, a claim he denied for 15 years before admitting in 2004 that he did so, but saying he only did it during his time as a manager of the Reds.

The new documents, which were not included in the Dowd Report that led to Rose’s banishment, are copies of a notebook seized in a 1989 raid at the home of Michael Bertolini, a former Rose associate.

The raid took place nearly two months after then-commissioner Bart Giamatti banned Rose for life.

Rose applied for reinstatement earlier this year when Rob Manfred replaced commissioner Bud Selig in January.

But the discovery of these latest documents, which indicate Rose not only bet on baseball, but on the Cincinnati Reds, could derail any re-instatement discussions, possibly for good.

According to the ESPN report, Rose issued the following statement through is lawyer, Raymond Genco:

“Since we submitted the application earlier this year, we committed to MLB that we would not comment on specific matters relating to reinstatement. I need to maintain that. To be sure, I’m eager to sit down with [MLB commissioner Rob] Manfred to address my entire history – the good and the bad – and my long personal journey since baseball. That meeting likely will come sometime after the All-Star break. Therefore at this point, it’s not appropriate to comment on any specifics.”

The report also said Bertolini’s lawyer, Nicholas De Feis, said his client has no interest in talking about the subject with anyone.