Writer and statistician John Thorn has cast a skeptical eye on writers who claim to be upholding a standard of integrity, observing that cheating for an advantage has always been a part of baseball, even among Hall of Famers such as Gaylord Perry and 19th-century star King Kelly: "This whole thing about McGwire simply permits sportswriters to imagine themselves to be Woodward and Bernstein, people who see themselves as guardians of a sacred portal, the last best hope for truth and justice - and it's all hogwash and baloney."