[z28jd]

I have no problem putting in the best from the era because almost every player from the 60's up did something that is now illegal by MLB standards. If you could somehow take today's list of banned substances and go back to 2000, you might be able to find a handful of players that don't fail a surprise test. No one voting has any idea who was clean so how do you single out certain players? It is 100% impossible for any voter to name one player that KNOW was clean during that era. They didn't follow them everyday, 24 hours a day. You judge them against their peers and if they were the best, you put them in.

The only part where I'd go against that thinking is the players that actually get suspended for use like Manny Ramirez. Once testing was in place, you fail and you lose my vote. That goes for Rafael Palmeiro, who I believe was thrown under the bus by Miguel Tejada. Palmeiro said he thought he was getting a B12 shot from Tejada and I believe him(though I don't believe he was clean during his career). Tejada was later caught with steroids despite denying it, while Palmeiro knew he was being targeted, already announced his retirement, already had his milestones sewn up and was on a last place team, so he was just playing out the string of his HOF career(assumed at the time 3000 hits/500 homers gets you in). There was zero reason for him to risk getting caught or try to enhance his performance with a couple months left on his career, he didn't even need to be out on the field. I do believe he thought it was a legal B12 shot. I do believe Tejada screwed him over and I still wouldn't vote for him.

My biggest knock will be once some owner from that era goes in the Hall of Fame. I wouldn't believe for a second that owners and Selig didn't know what was going on and would have stopped it had they known. The simple reason is because it meant more money for them, a lot more. A better reason is because everybody knew that watched the games, there was no secret about it. It sickens me that Steinbrenner is getting close to being elected and he benefited from turning a blind eye more than anyone. I don't know how he is even considered in the first place with his two lengthy suspensions, but that's a different story. If he gets in(or any steroid era owner, or Selig), then that really makes keeping the players out a total joke. Every owner is just as guilty as the players by letting it go and paying the players more.