List of people banned from Major League Baseball

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A ban from Major League Baseball is a form of punishment levied by the Office of the Commissioner of Major League Baseball (MLB) against a player, manager, executive, or other person connected with the league as a denunciation of some action that person committed that violated or tarnished the integrity of the game. A banned person is forbidden from employment with MLB or its affiliated minor leagues, and is forbidden from other professional involvement with MLB such as acting as a sports agent for an MLB player. Since 1991, all banned people–whether living or deceased–have been barred from induction to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Major League Baseball has maintained an official list of "permanently ineligible" people since Kenesaw Mountain Landis was installed as the first Commissioner of Baseball in 1920. Although the majority of banned persons were banned after the establishment of the Commissioner's office, some were formally banned prior to that time while a few others were informally "blacklisted" by the Major League clubs. Most persons who have been banned (including many who have been reinstated) were banned due to association with gambling or otherwise conspiring to fix the outcomes of games; others have been banned for a multitude of reasons including illegal activities off the field, violating some term of their playing contract, or making disparaging remarks that brought the game into disrepute.

Prior to 1920, players were banned by the decision of a committee. There were 14 players banned from 1865 to 1920; of those, 12 were banned for association with gambling or attempting to fix games, one was banned for violating the reserve clause, and one was banned for making disparaging remarks. In 1920, team owners established the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball, ostensibly to keep the players in line and out of corruption's way. Kenesaw Mountain Landis, a federal judge, was the owners' ideal candidate for the job. He demanded nearly unlimited power over every person in organized baseball down to the batboys, including the authority to ban people from the game. The owners, reeling from the fallout of the Black Sox Scandal, agreed. Landis banned many players and various others, often for seemingly small offenses, and at times almost indiscriminately. In his 24 years as commissioner, Landis banned more people than all of his successors combined. The last person banned by Landis to remain alive was William D. Cox, who died at 79 years old in 1989. As of 2021, no one has died while still ineligible after being banned by one of Landis' successors. In 1991, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum voted to bar banned players from induction. The oldest living person on the ineligible list is Pete Rose, who is 83 years old as of Rose's banishment remains among the most bitterly debated of any imposed after Landis' tenure. While Rose eventually admitted to betting on his team (which under the rules then and now in force are grounds for permanent ineligibility), his supporters argue that a lifetime ban is unjust due to a lack of conclusive evidence that his gambling directly affected the outcome of any games, and also due to modern society's more relaxed attitude towards gambling. By the 21st century, the use of performance enhancing drugs had replaced the possible influence of gambling as the greatest perceived threat to the integrity of the game. Subsequently, both the Commissioner of Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association came under intense pressure from fans, owners, current and former players, team officials, and the United States Congress to take decisive action against PED use in baseball. In 2005, as a result of the findings of the Mitchell Report, the owners and the MLBPA reached a new Basic Agreement which stipulated that multiple violations of the overhauled Major League Baseball drug policy would result in a lifetime ban.

Bans that are in effect and/or that were still in effect at the time of the banned person's death are denoted in bold. Living persons are denoted in italics. No banned person has ever been posthumously reinstated by Major League Baseball.

These players were banned from baseball prior to the creation of the office of Commissioner of Baseball. Thomas Devyr, Ed Duffy and William Wansley of the New York Mutuals were banned in 1865 for associating with known gamblers. Devyr was reinstated later that year, and Duffy and Wansley were reinstated in 1870. John Radcliff of the Chicago White Stockings was banned in 1874 after attempting to bribe umpire Billy McLean with $175 (about $4.800 today) to help the White Stockings win. He was blacklisted but ultimately was reinstated and played the next year. George Bechtel of the Louisville Grays was banned in 1876 for conspiring with his teammates to intentionally lose a game for $500, equal to $ today. Bechtel was never reinstated; he died in 1921. Jim Devlin, George Hall, Al Nichols and Bill Craver of the Louisville Grays were banned in 1877 for conspiring to throw two games in the Louisville Grays scandal. No evidence was ever found to suggest that Craver actually had anything to do with the conspiracy, but he refused to cooperate with the investigators. The four banned players were never reinstated. Oscar Walker was banned in 1877 for "contract jumping" by signing a contract to play for another team while still under contract to the team he left. This was 98 years prior to the advent of free agency in sports; Walker was reinstated in 1879. Lip Pike's play for Worcester in 1881 was so poor as to arouse suspicions, and Pike found himself the first professional player banned from the National League that September. He was added to the National League blacklist in 1881, and reinstated in 1883. Umpire and former outfielder Dick Higham was banned in 1882 for conspiring to help throw a Detroit Wolverines game after Detroit's owner hired a private investigator to check out Higham's background and found that he was an associate of a known gambler. Higham was never reinstated; he died in 1905. To date, Higham is the only umpire banned for life. Joseph Marie Creamer III, New York Giants team physician, was banned in 1908 for attempting to bribe umpire Bill Klem $2,500 (equal to $ today) to conspire against the Chicago Cubs during a playoff game against the Giants. Jack O'Connor and Harry Howell, manager and coach of the St. Louis Browns, were banned in 1910 for attempting to fix the outcome of the 1910 American League batting title for Cleveland Indians player Nap Lajoie against Ty Cobb. Both were never reinstated. Horace Fogel, Philadelphia Phillies owner, was banned in 1912 for publicly asserting that the umpires favored the New York Giants and were making unfair calls against his team. Fogel was never reinstated; he died in 1928.

These players were unofficially banned from baseball before the creation of the office of Commissioner of Baseball. They later had their bans made official by baseball's first Commissioner, Kenesaw Mountain Landis. Joe Harris of the Cleveland Indians was banned in 1920 after he chose to play for an independent team rather than the Indians. Harris was reinstated by Landis in 1922 due to, in part, his service during World War I.
Hal Chase of the New York Giants was banned in 1921 for consorting with gamblers and betting on his teams, among other disallowed practices. Chase had previously been accused of fixing games as early as 1910 and was reportedly passed over for managerial opportunities due to the allegations. In 1918, Reds manager Christy Mathewson suspended Chase mid season for fixing games, and John McGraw persuaded Mathewson to trade him to the Giants. At the end of the 1919 season, National League president John Heydler found evidence that Chase bribed players on other teams. Heydler forced his immediate release, and no other National League team would sign him. Since no American League team would sign him either, Chase was blackballed from the major leagues. Landis' declaration after the Black Sox trial that no one who bet on baseball would ever be allowed to play is recognized as formalizing the ban. Chase died in 1947. Heinie Zimmerman of the New York Giants was banned in 1921 for encouraging his teammates to fix games. He had been benched by McGraw and later sent home during the 1919 season and had been informally banned from the majors. During the 1917 World Series, he chased the winning run across the plate and found himself having to deny having helped throw the Series. Despite some of these allegations, McGraw would not turn him in, not wanting to be the one responsible for having one of his players banned for life and suspended indefinitely. Later, McGraw testified in court that Zimmerman conspired to fix games. As with Chase, Landis' declaration after the Black Sox trial is also seen as formalizing Zimmerman's ban. Zimmerman died in 1969.

After Landis died in 1944, there was a long lull before the next banishment. During the tenures of Commissioners Happy Chandler (1945–1951), Ford Frick (1951–1965), Spike Eckert (1965–1968), Bowie Kuhn (1969–1984) and Peter Ueberroth (1984–1989), only three players (or former players) were banned for life. All three were banned by Kuhn, and all three were later reinstated. By the time of Kuhn's tenure, players had organized the Major League Baseball Players Association and negotiated the first Basic Agreement with the owners. Among other things the Agreement provided, for the first time, an independent process through which active players could appeal disciplinary decisions (up to and including lifetime bans) by League presidents or the Commissioner. As of , no such process exists for personnel who are not members of the MLBPA. Ferguson Jenkins of the Texas Rangers was banned in 1980 after a customs search in Toronto, Ontario, found of cocaine, of hashish, and of marijuana on his person. Jenkins missed the rest of the 1980 season, but was reinstated by an independent arbiter, and retired following the 1983 season. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1991. Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle, both retired and both in no way involved in baseball anymore, were banned in 1980 and 1983 respectively after they were hired by casinos in Atlantic City, New Jersey, as greeters and autograph signers. The bans were very controversial, especially since the casinos involved did not offer sports betting, which at the time was illegal in New Jersey. Nevertheless, Kuhn opined that a casino was "no place for a baseball hero and Hall of Famer." The bans took place prior to the Hall formalizing its policy against inducting banned persons, and the Hall took no action as a result of Kuhn's decision. Mantle and Mays were reinstated by Peter Ueberroth in 1985, and Mantle died in 1995.

A. Bartlett Giamatti served only five months as Commissioner of Baseball before he died of a heart attack on September 1, 1989. Pete Rose, manager of the Cincinnati Reds and MLB's all time leader in base hits, was investigated by lawyer John M. Dowd in 1989 for his alleged ties to gamblers and illegal bookmakers; when new information on Rose's gambling habits (including, among other things, betting on but not against the Reds) came to light, Giamatti and Rose reached a legal settlement that resulted in Rose's placement on the ineligible list on August 24, 1989. Whereas all other banned MLB personnel were involuntarily rendered ineligible pursuant to a unilateral decision by the Commissioner, Rose is the only person to be placed on the MLB ineligible list as a result of a mutual agreement. As part of their agreement, Rose accepted that there was a factual reason for his banishment. In return, Giamatti agreed that MLB would not make a formal finding of guilt or innocence with respect to the allegations against Rose. In addition, Rose is permitted to apply for reinstatement once a year indefinitely. Notwithstanding their agreement, the Commissioner stated in his press conference that "I have concluded that (Rose) bet on baseball" and described his sanction as "banishment for life" and "lifetime ineligibility," although he also made clear he was open to the possibility of reinstatement provided Rose could provide evidence of a "redirected, reconfigured, rehabilitated life." Giamatti died eight days later–his sudden demise immediately following Rose's banishment has been seen by some, including Rose himself, as an impediment to reinstatement. After years of denial, Rose admitted to betting on baseball (and on the Reds) in early 2004. He later acknowledged that "everything" the Dowd Report contained was the complete, unadulterated truth. Since admitting to his gambling infractions, Rose has maintained that he never bet against the Reds, never avoided betting on a particular starting pitcher and never bet on baseball until after he retired as a player–assertions that Dowd has disputed. No credible evidence has emerged to suggest Rose bet against his own team or systematically avoided betting on any pitchers in his starting rotations; however, some evidence has come to light suggesting Rose started betting on baseball while still a player manager in Cincinnati. Rose has applied for reinstatement four times, all of which have been either ignored or denied, in large part due to Rose's acknowledgement that he continues to (legally) bet on baseball. Current commissioner Rob Manfred rejected his most recent request specifically citing his continued betting, saying that it was evidence that allowing his return would be "an unacceptable risk" to baseball.

Fay Vincent became commissioner upon the death of Giamatti. George Steinbrenner, New York Yankees owner, was banned in 1990 for hiring a private investigator to "dig up dirt" on Yankees player Dave Winfield in order to discredit him; much of the information Steinbrenner received was from small time gambler and rackets runner Howard Spira, who had once worked for Winfield's charitable foundation. In Steinbrenner's absence, Robert Nederlander, a limited partner, took control of the Yankees, and Joe Molloy, Steinbrenner's son in law, took control after Nederlander resigned. Molloy relinquished the team back to Steinbrenner when Bud Selig reinstated him in 1993; Steinbrenner retired as owner in 2006, passing control to his sons permanently, and died in 2010. Steve Howe of the New York Yankees was banned in 1992 after receiving seven suspensions related to drug use, particularly cocaine and alcohol. An independent arbiter reinstated Howe shortly after; Howe retired in 1996 and died in 2006.

Bud Selig became Commissioner after Fay Vincent's resignation; he was Acting Commissioner between 1992 and 1998, and was elected to the Office of Commissioner in 1998. In 1999, Selig oversaw the disbandment of the American and National League offices and took over all but a few ceremonial duties formerly performed by the League Presidents, including the discipline of personnel for on field behavior. Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott was banned in 1996 for bringing Major League Baseball into disrepute by repeatedly making slurs against African Americans, Jews, Asians and homosexuals. Schott had previously been fined $25,000, , and banned from day to day operations of the Reds for the 1993 season for similar offending. She was the first, and to date only, woman to be banned; she was reinstated in 1998, sold a majority stake in her franchise in 1999 and died in 2004.

Rob Manfred succeeded Bud Selig as the Commissioner of Baseball after Selig's retirement on January 25, 2015. To date, he has banned more people than his three immediate predecessors combined, and is second only to Landis for most people placed on the permanent ineligibility list. Jenrry Mejía, New York Mets pitcher, was banned on February 12, 2016, for testing positive for performance enhancing drugs three times in less than a year. He sought and was granted reinstatement in July 2018, and was allowed to join the Dominican Summer League Mets in August. Subject to conditions set by Manfred, all restrictions were lifted at the beginning of spring training in 2019, by which point Mejía had been released by the Mets and signed to a minor league contract with the Boston Red Sox. Chris Correa, former St. Louis Cardinals scouting director, was permanently banned on January 30, 2017, for his role in hacking the Houston Astros' scouting database to provide the Cardinals with a competitive edge in scouting. The Cardinals were also ordered to pay the Astros $2 million in restitution, and forfeited their top two picks in the 2017 draft to the Astros. Correa was later sentenced to 46 months in prison for unauthorized access of a protected computer, thus becoming the first person to be incarcerated for activities that resulted in a ban from the game. John Coppolella, former Atlanta Braves general manager, was permanently banned on November 21, 2017, for his role in the Braves' circumvention of MLB rules regarding the signing of international free agents. The Braves were also required to release 12 prospects signed as international free agents, most notably Kevin Maitán, and MLB voided the contract of Ji hwan Bae. Coppolella was reinstated in January 2023. Brandon Taubman, former Houston Astros assistant general manager, was added to the list on November 15, 2019, for his inappropriate comments toward female reporters in the Astros clubhouse in October 2019, pending further investigation into sign stealing by the Astros during the 2017 and 2018 seasons. On January 13, 2020, following an investigation into sign stealing by the Astros, Manfred announced that Taubman would remain on the ineligible list through at least the end of the 2020 season. Although Taubman was interviewed for the sign stealing investigation, Manfred said that his clubhouse comments were egregious enough to merit significant discipline. Taubman was eligible to apply for reinstatement after the 2020 World Series, though there is no record of him doing so as of the start of the 2021 season. If he is reinstated, he will be permanently banned if he commits another "material violation" of baseball rules. Roberto Alomar, who was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011 as a player, was banned on April 30, 2021, following an independent investigation into claims he had harassed a female Toronto Blue Jays staffer in 2014. The Blue Jays subsequently announced they would remove a banner honoring Alomar from the Rogers Centre and sever all ties with him. However, he will remain enshrined in the Hall of Fame. Mickey Callaway, former pitching coach of the Los Angeles Angels, was banned on May 26, 2021, following an investigation of allegations of sexual harassment spanning much of his career as manager of the New York Mets, pitching coach of the Cleveland Indians, and Angels pitching coach. The investigation started when The Athletic released an article that detailed the allegations. Callaway was eligible to apply for reinstatement after the 2022 season, though there is no record of him doing so as of the start of the 2023 season.