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Manfred: It's 'unfair' for HOF voters to surmise PED use

H.Darr Beiser / USA TODAY Sports / Reuters

Newly-appointed commissioner Rob Manfred recently encouraged the voting members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America not to speculate about whether certain Hall-of-Fame candidates used performance-enhancing drugs in the absence of "credible evidence."

"I think it's unfair," Manfred told ESPN's Jayson Stark on Thursday, "for people to surmise that Player A did X, Y or Z, absent a positive test, or proof that we produced in an investigation, or whatever. I just think it runs contrary to a very fundamental notion in our society, that you're innocent until somebody proves you're guilty."

Manfred, who officially succeeded Bud Selig as commissioner Jan. 25, implored voters to make a distinction between those found guilty of using PEDs and those merely suspected of using illicit substances.

"The only piece of advice that I'm comfortable giving is that I think that everyone should keep in mind the difference between players who tested positive and were disciplined on the one hand, and players where somebody has surmised that they did something on the other," said Manfred. "And I think, based on what you read in the media, sometimes those lines get blurred. And I think it gets really important to keep that distinction in mind."

Several compelling candidates on the 2015 ballot - namely Mike Piazza and Jeff Bagwell - were not elected to Cooperstown earlier this winter, and many speculated that ties to PED use (dubious or not) kept them out of the Hall of Fame despite an absence of legitimate evidence.

"The guys I'm concerned about are, there are players out there who are talked about where there is literally nothing. They have nothing, other than, you know, 'He looked like X.' Trust me, from somebody who spent a lot of time (investigating), you can't decide whether or not somebody was using steroids based on what they look like. That is not enough evidence to make that determination."

The commissioner also mentioned that he believes the results of the Mitchell Report - the famous independent investigation by U.S. Senator George Mitchell regarding the use of steroids in baseball - constitutes "evidence of use."

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