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There are more people who will defend Kevin Cash’s decision to remove Blake Snell from Game 6 of the World Series than those who will lend a sympathetic ear to baseball’s biggest embarrassments. No one is clamouring for Ben Johnson or Lance Armstrong to be honoured for the records they set. Why should it be any different for Bonds and Clemens?

There’s something dirty about even discussing their merits, and yet if I was voting for this year’s Hall of Fame class — whose ballot was released Monday afternoon — I’d have a check mark beside both of their names.

Why? Because the only thing that makes me more uncomfortable than having Bonds and Clemens in the hall is keeping them out when so many of their peers went unpunished despite committing the same crimes.

The Baseball Writers’ Association of America gets to decide which players are hall of famers and which ones aren’t. Writers with more than 10 years’ service are eligible to cast ballots for whoever they think is most deserving of a plaque. Unfortunately, this same group is being forced to say yes or no to players without knowing all the facts.

First, let’s add some perspective. Steroids have been on the list of banned substances since 1991, but MLB didn’t start testing for performance-enhancing drugs until 2003. Prior to that, the league’s protocols were based on the honour system, and it doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to figure out many executives looked the other way because it was good for their job security and good for business.

After the 1994-95 strike, public interest in baseball plummeted. It wasn’t until Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa chased Roger Maris’ home run record in 1998 that casual fans resumed tuning in. For the first time in the sport’s history, networks were doing live look-ins at individual at-bats. For those old enough to remember, it was one of those iconic “where were you?� moments in sports history.

Of course, the whole thing turned out to be a sham. McGwire and Sosa’s pursuit wouldn’t have been possible without PEDs. Almost a decade later, under intense public scrutiny and pressure from government officials, MLB commissioned an independent report from former U.S. senator George Mitchell, which identified 89 players who were alleged to have used performance-enhancing drugs.

MLB tried to play catch-up, but because the league turned a blind eye for so long it’s impossible to say how many players were users. Bonds, Clemens and McGwire were mentioned in the Mitchell report, but what about the guys who weren’t? If you honestly believe MLB caught everyone retroactively, there’s a Nigerian prince who would like a word about his inheritance.

Whether MLB cares to admit it or not, the entire era is tarnished. For every Carlos Delgado or Frank Thomas, guys who were praised for doing things the right way and being outspoken about those who weren’t, there are 10 examples of players whose career numbers look more than a bit fishy. Without the drug tests, there’s just no way to prove they did anything wrong.

In the court of law, the accused is innocent until proven guilty beyond the shadow of a doubt. No such rule exists for MLB votes. It’s up to each individual member to come up with their own criteria. Predictably, the lack of guidelines means there are differing opinions about how the cases should be handled, and outside of guidance from MLB there’s little that can be done to narrow the divide.

How is anyone supposed to know what separates Bonds from Jeff Bagwell, Ivan Rodriguez or Mike Piazza — three players from the same era who were inducted despite persistent rumours about PED use. Or what about Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt and the slew of stars from a previous era who admitted to using amphetamines?

Bonds was by far the best position player of his generation, and Clemens was one of the most dominating pitchers. It’s safe to assume both men cheated their way into the record books, but it’s also undeniable that they were head and shoulders above their peers, many of whom were cheating the exact same way.

With two years left on the ballot, neither Bonds nor Clemens seems likely to be inducted. Players need at least 75 per cent support from the writers to enter baseball’s shrine. After eight years, Clemens was still well short at 61 per cent, with Bonds close behind at 60.7. Combined, they received only 3.1 per cent more of the vote than the year before. If that trend continues, their cases will be all but officially dead by the time their final year of eligibility rolls around in 2022.

Voters don’t have to be proud of it — I know I wouldn’t be — but if guys like Piazza and Bagwell got in, Bonds and Clemens should too.

There aren’t enough facts to properly judge any of the players from the steroid era. Instead of making a few guys scapegoats for a problem the league created, voters should put the top athletes where they belong, even if that means for one induction class the Hall of Fame becomes the Hall of Shame.