Manfred On Track For Rose Decision Before End Of Year

BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred remains on track to decide Pete Rose's application for reinstatement by the end of next month.

Then Cincinnati's manager, Rose agreed in 1989 to a lifetime ban from baseball after an MLB investigation concluded he bet on games involving the Reds while managing and playing. Rose applied for reinstatement in September 1997 and met with Commissioner Bud Selig in November 2002, but Selig never ruled on Rose's application.

Manfred succeeded Selig in January, and Rose again applied to end the ban. Manfred met with Rose on Sept. 24.

''The end of the year is my deadline,'' Manfred said Tuesday at the general managers' meetings. ''I'm not telling you that this is coming Dec. 30 or whatever. It will be done before the end of the year, let me be clear about that.''