Pete Rose, Major League Baseball’s all-time hits leader has applied for reinstatement to the league after being banned in 1989 for gambling the Cincinnati Reds team that he was managing. New MLB commissioner Rob Manfred will review Rose’s case.

The previous commissioner, Bud Selig, who retired in January never ruled on Rose, who signed the original agreement on his ban with an earlier commissioner Bart Giamatti.

Pete Rose was punished severely in 1989 because his actions compromised the integrity of the game. Although he never bet against his own team, he might have managed differently based on the wager he made on a particular game. In 2004, he released an autobiography, My Prison Without Bars.

The question now is whether or not he should be forgiven.

In his article in support of Rose for USA Today, James Reston Jr. wrote, “We cannot honor Rose, any more than we honor the racists, drunks and cheats who already have their plaques in the Hall. But we can give him his rightful place in the history of the game.”

Jesse Spector of Sporting News took a different approach and instead argued why what Rose did should never be forgiven. She wrote, “Rose’s supporters are the anti-vaccination crusaders of the baseball world. He is banned from baseball for life, which means he can sit outside the Hall of Fame and sell as many autographs as he wants, but he can never have a plaque. No matter what else changes, that should remain the same.”

Commissioner Rob Manfried has a decision to make that will most certainly seal Pete Rose’s legacy but could also set a precedent for other banned professional athletes.

No matter what his fate is, Pete Rose left an incredible mark on the game of Baseball and he will always be remembered, whether as a Hall of Famer or not.