Rob Manfred and Major League Baseball made waves on Tuesday when they announced the removal of “Shoeless” Joe Jackson and Pete Rose from the league's permanently ineligible list. Both players were on the list following the discovery of their gambling habits during their careers. However, the timing of the decision is curious to Hall-of-Famer Johnny Bench, one of Rose's former Cincinnati Reds teammates.

Bench spoke with Dan Patrick on Wednesday's episode of his show and explained one reason why Manfred might have made the decision. According to him, they wanted to wait until Rose passed away before reinstating his name. Rose died in September of last year, leaving the league free to lift his ban without any potential repercussions.

“I think there was some concern that he wanted to get into the game of baseball as far as what has been talked about,” Bench said. “He wanted to still be a manager or something like that. I think that created some problems, the fact somebody would actually hire at this point or what position he would be in. I think there was still, an okay we still have to have a certain caution here, we’ve got to put up some yellow flags and in most cases a lot of red flags and make sure none of this happens.”

Some experts point to Manfred's political perspective as a reason why he did what he did.

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Now that he has passed away, Rose cannot take up any positions in the league. However, that has not stopped him from making waves. Fans wonder how the decision came about, and if his career with the Reds is worthy of the Hall of Fame.

Rose's career as a player was a long, successful one spanning 24 years. On the other hand, his time as a manger was a lot less fruitful. His time in MLB came to an unceremonious end when Tommy Helms replaced him as the Reds' manager in 1989. The move came as a result of the ongoing gambling investigation that Rose was the subject of at the time.

Those factors make his Hall of Fame case an interesting one, but some experts don't see it happening. Regardless of if he makes it or not, he remains a legend with Cincinnati.