Jayson Stark - Should Mark McGwire be voted into the Hall of Fame?

"Tough, complicated decision"

In this interview with Stark, his words are read back to him. He doesn't disagree:

BizBall: You voted for Mark McGwire for the Hall of Fame. In writing on the decision, you said:
"...This is a tough, complicated decision, dumped in our laps by a sport that left it up to us to deal with its mess....
"We probably can't do the right thing no matter what we do about Mark McGwire. But here's why I voted the way I did:
"The fact is, people have oversimplified this issue, to the point that, if you listen to the way most folks talk about it, you'd think there were only 10 players taking any kind of performance-enhancing drugs in the '90s."...

Stark: I’m like many of my fellow voters. I’m still sorting this question out as I go along... We really have no idea which players did what during the ‘90s. HUNDREDS of players used these substances, or at least experimented with them... So are all those voters who want to make a statement just going to withhold votes from players who hit home runs, or got subpoenaed, or showed up in Jose Caneco's book?

 

ESPN sportswriter Jayson Stark, who stated that he would vote for McGwire, noting the earlier election of Perry, said, "I think I'm stuck with evaluating what the sport allowed to happen on the field. Either the '90s happened or they didn't. Since they happened, and the hundreds of players using whatever they used leveled the playing field to some extent, I feel more comfortable voting for players like McGwire than I do trying to pick and choose who did what, and when, and why."