Cincinnati Reds great Pete Rose has once again petitioned the commissioner of Major League Baseball (MLB) to have his lifetime ban reversed.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred reported that he received the formal request from Rose this week and said he would consider it “on its merits.”

“I want to make sure I understand all of the details of the Dowd Report and Commissioner [Bart] Giamatti’s decision and the agreement that was ultimately reached,” Manfred said on Monday morning. “I want to hear what Pete has to say, and I’ll make a decision once I’ve done that.”

In 1989, Rose, now 73, agreed to a lifetime ban after being accused of gambling on games.

“One of the game’s greatest players has engaged in a variety of acts which have stained the game, and he must now live with the consequences of those acts,” then MLB commissioner Bart Giamatti said during the 1989 press conference announcing the ban.

Rose was supposed to be eligible for re-instatement a year after his ban, but no serious move was ever made to do so.

The ban has kept Charlie Hustle out of the Hall of Fame despite playing in more games than anyone in the history of MLB. If baseball lifts the ban, he will once again be eligible for the Hall of Fame.

Rose played from 1963 to 1986 and from 1984 until his 1989 suspension served as the manager for the Cincinnati Reds. He earned 4,256 hits, an MLB record that still stands.

For 15 years Rose denied allegations that he was gambling on games, but finally admitted the truth in a book published in 2004.

Commissioner Manfred noted that Rose only made a request and that nothing else should be read into the situation.

“Honestly, I don’t think people should read any disposition into what I’m saying about this, Manfred said. “I see it as a really simple thing. Part of my obligations under the major league constitution is to deal with those requests, and I’ll deal with it.”

“I’ll always have hope,” Rose said earlier this year. “That’s all I’ve got.”

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com