All players from the steroid era are from the steroid era.

1) Craig Biggio may have taken steroids.

2) Even if he didn't use steroids, his stats benefited from the steroid users who surrounded him:

"All these players spent most of their careers in the era before testing, so we do not really know if they were cheating. But Biggio did not have bulging muscles, so most people assume he was clean. The same could be said of another first-timer, the former pitcher Curt Schilling, who was more stocky than sculptured and was also considered clean.

But assumptions, with varying degrees of evidence, are part of the problem for the hundreds of baseball writers who will cast ballots in this election. Bonds, Clemens, Piazza and Sosa were clearly Hall of Fame-caliber players, yet are widely assumed to have used performance-enhancing drugs. For many writers, even the whiff of such drug use means automatic disqualification."

I think it's a correct observation ... some players get benefit of the doubt, some players don't. But "lack of bulging muscles" is hardly a reasonable test.


"Here is a different question: what if a report surfaced tomorrow with hard evidence that an existing Hall of Famer used steroids? The fantasy of a pure Hall of Fame would be shattered, and the roster of inductees would look confusing with some stars still on the outside."

This will happen soon enough.


"There are no right answers. But it seems most logical to elect the best players and hope that future generations understand the sobering context of the time."

That's probably what I would do.