SEATTLE — Yankees manager Aaron Boone was a big Pete Rose fan as a kid. When the Phillies won the World Series in 1980, Rose was their first baseman, Bob Boone was the catcher and their kids played together. Aaron Boone and his big brother Bret were around Rose a lot. They looked up to Rose.

"It would have been amazing to be able to share that with the manager that gave me my first opportunity," Larkin said.

On a wet, breezy evening just off Pete Rose Way — with a BetMGM billboard beckoning beyond right field — ballplayers, coaches and fans welcomed a new MLB policy that wipes out bans for disgraced players after they die.

Pete Rose, who was banished from Major League Baseball for gambling on the game, has been removed from the league's permanently ineligible list and could be a contender for the Hall of Fame, MLB announced Tuesday.

"Absolutely pathetic they waited for Pete Rose to pass away before giving him his day in the sun," Gary Sheffield Jr. tweeted. "Reprehensible."