GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred says he has received a formal request from Pete Rose asking that his lifetime ban be lifted and that he will consider the all-time hits leader's request "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 after a meeting with Los Angeles Dodgers players in Arizona on Monday morning. "I want to hear what Pete has to say, and I'll make a decision once I've done that."

Rose's previous efforts to gain leniency from commissioners Fay Vincent and Bud Selig were never considered.

Rose, 73, played from 1963 to 1986, amassing 4,256 hits, still a major league record. Three years after he retired, Rose agreed to a permanent ban from baseball amid accusations he gambled on games while playing and managing for the Cincinnati Reds.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/12494312/pete-rose-makes-formal-request-mlb-commissioner-rob-manfred-lift-life-ban