NEW YORK - It may not get him in the Hall of Fame, but Pete Rose's book, ''Pete Rose: My Prison Without Bars,'' will claim the No. 1 spot on The New York Times' list of best sellers.

Rose's book, released last Thursday with a first printing of 500,000, will top the Times' nonfiction hardcover chart coming out Jan. 25, reflecting the week ''My Prison Without Bars'' went on sale.

In 1989, Rose was banished from baseball for betting on the game, a charge he acknowledged for the first time in his new book. Rose, the career hits leader, is ineligible for the Hall of Fame and officials had said reinstatement was impossible until he admitted he gambled on baseball.

Earlier this week, baseball commissioner Bud Selig said he had not read the book and declined comment on what he might do.

Rose's publisher, Rodale Press, said actual sales figures were not available Wednesday.

According to Nielsen BookScan, which tracks industry sales, ''My Prison Without Bars'' sold just under 21,000 copies in its first three days. Nielsen claims to report about 70-75 percent of total sales.