Rather than fighting about who did or didn't use, what constitutes the burden of proof for such, and what does or doesn't count as a performance enhancing drug, I think it would be much more edifying to discuss who we think should (not will) go into the HOF for performance during the "Steroid Era" - early '90s-2006. So I'm putting my list here. For the purposes of this list I'm not including guys like Ripken and Boggs, who had their best years in the '80s even though they played well into the '90s. Ripken's last MVP was in '91 and he went downhill pretty fast after that. Boggs kept hitting for average throughout the '90s but without the walks and XBH he had in the '80s. And Gwynn probably hit about as well in the '90s as he had in the '80s, but he was more of a pre-steroid style of hitter, so I'm not including him either. That doesn't mean I don't think those guys deserve to be in, and it doesn't mean I don't think any of them used PEDs. I just don't consider them to be primarily Steroid Era bats. Similarly, Pujols was great for the last 6 years of the Steroid Era, but he won 2 of his 3 MVPs after 2006 and is still a solid contributor, so I consider him more of a post-steroid guy. So here's my list, by position:
DH: Frank Thomas, Edgar Martinez
1B: Mark McGwire
2B: Craig Biggio, Jeff Kent, Roberto Alomar
SS: Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez
3B: Chipper Jones
OF: Barry Bonds, Manny Ramirez, Ken Griffey Jr.
SP: Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz
RP: Mariano Rivera, Trevor Hoffman, Billy Wagner
There were a few guys I struggle to leave off, but that's about the right number of HOFers for a decade and a half based on the average rate of producing HOF players throughout the history of the sport. Barry Larkin certainly had an argument. Scott Rolen has a sneaky argument. I've gone back and forth a bit on Bagwell over the past few years. Larry Walker or Vlad Guerrero could certainly build a strong case (and obviously Sosa as a 600-HR guy). But based on the guys I already said I'm leaving off, realistically, I'm only representing about 10-12 years worth of baseball history here. At best. Maybe less, because most of these guys saw their careers start between the mid-'80s and early-'90s. 20 guys for a decade is already high relative to the standard number enshrined for any given period. If I had to take one guy back off it would definitely be Smoltz.