ATLANTA (Ticker) -- After hawking his signature for a few hours, Pete Rose returns to baseball tonight.

Rose is among the members of Major League Baseball's All-Century Team that will be introduced at Turner Field prior to Game Two of the World Series between the Atlanta Braves and New York Yankees.

All living players on the 30-member team have been invited to participate in the ceremonies, and very few will gather more attention than Rose, the all-time hits leader who will participate in an officially sanctioned event for the first time in over 11 years.

Then-Commissioner Bart Giamatti banned Rose on August 24, 1989 following a long probe into gambling by the former Cincinnati Reds manager.

Commissioner Bug Selig has allowed Rose to participate but has no plans on lifting the ban that has kept Rose out of the Hall of Fame.

A lightning rod of controversy to begin with, Rose added more fuel to the fire. Rose skipped a media session this afternoon to introduce the All-Century Team in order to appear at a card show in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He was scheduled to sign items for a fee before catching a late-afternoon flight.

Among the All-Century members most critical of Rose was Johnny Bench, his former teammate on the Reds. Bench believes Rose deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, but should admit that he gambled on baseball, something Rose has refused to do.

"This country's a great place where people say they're sorry and get a second chance. Pete hasn't done that," Bench said. "I would beg him to get out there and just say, `I'm sorry.' He belongs in the Hall of Fame."

On Saturday, Selig refused comment on Rose's appearance at the card show, and other members of the All-Century Team tried to shy away from the controversy.

"I'm not going to answer that question for a cheap quote," pitcher Bob Gibson said. "You want me to get into trouble? All I can tell you is Pete was a great competitor. Numbers speak for themselves."

Rose finished ninth in the fan voting among outfielders, earning the final spot at the position.

As announced on Saturday, legendary players were at the top of the list as voted by fans, with Lou Gehrig narrowly edging Babe Ruth to finish first overall. Hank Aaron was third, followed by Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Bench and Joe DiMaggio.

Among the 25 players elected by fans were four active stars -- Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens, St. Louis first baseman Mark McGwire, Seattle outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. and Baltimore shortstop Cal Ripken.

The Yankees are well-represented, with Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra joining Gehrig, Ruth and DiMaggio. Clemens is in his first year with the Yankees and will start Game Four of the World Series on Wednesday night.

The All-Century Team consists of two players at each infield position, two catchers, six pitchers and nine outfielders.

Five additional players were added by a special panel chosen to compensate for oversights in fan voting. Those were pitchers Lefty Grove, Christy Mathewson and Warren Spahn, shortstop Honus Wagner and outfielder Stan Musial.

Spahn, the former Braves star, threw out the first pitch before Game One.

The list of 100 players on the ballot was announced at the All-Star break. Voting took place at major league ballparks, baseball's Web site, retail outlets and MasterCard promotional inserts from July 13-September 10.

Gehrig, baseball's Iron Man before being surpassed by Ripken, was tops among first baseman with 1,207,992 votes, more than double the total of McGwire at the position.

Ruth led outfielders and was followed by Aaron, the all-time home run leader. Others elected at the position were Aaron, Ty Cobb, DiMaggio, Griffey, Mantle, Mays, Rose and Williams.

Nolan Ryan, the all-time strikeout leader, was the leading vote-getter among pitchers and was elected to the team along with Gibson, Sandy Koufax, Cy Young and Walter Johnson.

Bench and Berra are the All-Century catchers.

Currently a third baseman, Ripken led all shortstops in voting and was followed by Ernie Banks.

Mike Schmidt and Brooks Robinson are the third basemen on the list. The second basemen were players from earlier eras -- Jackie Robinson and Rogers Hornsby.