Pete Rose Appeals for MLB Reinstatement in Letter to Commissioner Rob Manfred

Major League Baseball all-time hits leader Pete Rose asked for his lifetime MLB ban to be lifted in a letter to commissioner Rob Manfred this week.

TMZ Sports obtained a copy of the letter, which included the following line:

"I am writing today for three reasons. First, because at my age I want to be 100% sure that you understand how much I mean it when I say that I'm sorry. Second, to ask for your forgiveness. And third, because I still think every day about what it would mean to be considered for the Hall of Fame."

Rose, 81, received a lifetime ban from baseball in 1989 after it was found that he bet on MLB games while serving as a player and manager for the Cincinnati Reds. As a result, Rose was ruled ineligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Nicknamed Charlie Hustle, Rose is widely recognized as one of the greatest baseball players of all time.

His playing career spanned 24 years with the Reds, Philadelphia Phillies and Montreal Expos. He earned 17 All-Star nods, three World Series championships, three National League batting titles, two Gold Glove Awards, one NL MVP award, one World Series MVP award and the 1963 NL Rookie of the Year Award.

Rose was a lifetime .303 hitter with 160 home runs, 1,314 RBI and 2,165 runs scored. His 4,256 hits are also the most in MLB history.

The Hit King has appealed for reinstatement many times in hopes of one day being enshrined in Cooperstown, but he has been turned away each time.

In his latest attempt, Rose apologized for having "brought shame" to baseball and called it his "dream" to be a Hall of Famer.