Pettitte Admits Hormone Use

After Being Named In Mitchell Report, Yankees Pitcher Admits HGH In '02

(CBS/AP)  Andy Pettitte used human growth hormone to recover from an elbow injury in 2002, the New York Yankees pitcher admitted two days after he was cited in the Mitchell Report.

Pettitte said he tried HGH on two occasions, stressing he did it to heal faster and not enhance his performance. He emphasized he never used steroids.

"If what I did was an error in judgment on my part, I apologize," Pettitte said Saturday in a statement released by his agent. "I accept responsibility for those two days."

CBS correspondent Michelle Miller reports Pettitte emphatically denies the use of steroids or any other drugs. In a statement released Saturday night, the New York Yankees said "we support his coming forward."

On Thursday, Pettitte was among 85 players named by former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell's investigation into steroids and performance-enhancing drugs. Pettitte had not commented publicly on the allegations.

Pettitte asked the trainer he shared with Roger Clemens, Brian McNamee, to help him with HGH while on the disabled list early in the season, the report said. McNamee recalled injecting Pettitte two to four times, Mitchell said.

"In 2002 I was injured. I had heard that human growth hormone could promote faster healing for my elbow," Pettitte said in the statement released to The Associated Press by agent Randy Hendricks.

"I felt an obligation to get back to my team as soon as possible. For this reason, and only this reason, for two days I tried human growth hormone. Though it was not against baseball rules, I was not comfortable with what I was doing, so I stopped.

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Read the full Mitchell Report here.

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"This is it - two days out of my life; two days out of my entire career, when I was injured and on the disabled list," he said. "I wasn't looking for an edge. I was looking to heal."

Pettitte was not linked to steroids in the report, and said he never had never used them.

"I have the utmost respect for baseball and have always tried to live my life in a way that would be honorable," he said. "If I have let down people that care about me, I am sorry, but I hope that you will listen to me carefully and understand that two days of perhaps bad judgment should not ruin a lifetime of hard work and dedication.

"I have tried to do things the right way my entire life, and, again, ask that you put those two days in the proper context. People that know me will know that what I say is true," he said.

According to CBS News' chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian, the extent of drug use revealed in the report calls for what may prove to be a daunting task: finding some way to detect the new drug of choice in sport - not steroids, but Human Growth Hormone, or HGH, craved by athletes driven to enhance performance and avoid positive drug tests.

The 35-year-old lefty is 201-113 lifetime. He started his major league career in 1995 and won four World Series championships with the Yankees. He pitched for his hometown Houston Astros from 2004-06 and helped them reach their first World Series.

Pettitte returned to the Yankees last season and went 15-9. This month, he put off retirement and agreed to a $16 million, one-year contract to play for the Yankees next season.

Mitchell devoted 1½ pages to McNamee's testimony about Pettitte. Clemens was mentioned on nearly nine pages, with McNamee saying he injected the star pitcher.

Clemens was accused of using steroids and HGH and, through his lawyer, vehemently denied the accusations.

When Clemens joined the Yankees in 1999, he and Pettitte became fast friends and training partners. McNamee was part of their regimen - Clemens had worked with him in Toronto before being traded to New York.

According to the Mitchell Report, Pettitte asked McNamee about using HGH after the 2001 season, and the trainer said he discouraged the pitcher from trying it.

[pilgrimsway-2009]

Why has this list all of the sudden comes out now? Why? I think because someone was found guilty in the first place. Remember He does not want to lose His records that he broke through steroids so now everyone else is named so everyone else is to blame. Thus he gets to keep his HR records. Home run records!

[mcv57]

republic1776:

Gone are the days of Citizen Kane. Many Americans don''t realized that the coupe has taken place. The Bushwacker has railroaded the U.S. Constitution very subtly and quitely, and the Corporations have manipulated are the Truth to the point that all we see is deception.

Yes, the old saying "believe only half of what you read; nothing of what you hear." Well, today it''s pure propaganda - corporations and the government dictate what our eyes and ears can have. In the day of Rome, only the Generals and their armies could overthrow the Emperior - Bush always s*u*cks* up to the Generals. I am really surprized how these kids (soldiers) come back deformed and maimed just don''t realize they have sold their bodies to the Beast.

[republic1776]

I noticed that this story was posted yesterday and then removed. It was reposted again today.
Just shows how the media drives a hidden agenda.
An example is we murder more Americans here in the US than the War in Iraq does. Sharks kill a dozen people worldwide each year, misquiteos kill millions.
Drive By media!
Who gives a Rat''s A$$ about Sports!

[rushlimpdrug]

Ok, it was two days because he started at 11:57 pm one day and ended the dose the nextday at 12:02 am a total of 3 minutes.
Had he started earlier it would have only been one day.
Actually it was only 5 minutes.
5 minutes of his entire career.
This proves these athletes don''t take this stuff ALL the time just in short periods.
So there.
Gotta go eat.
No, I don''t eat ALL the time just a few minutes out of the day.

[johnshaft4]

Pettitte uses HGH because he IS "petite".

[tomar0317]

Two words come to mind on atheletes: greedy cheaters

[iceman_1960]

All modern sports records are now highly suspect.

John L. Sullivan should be reinstated as boxing"s heavyweight champion.

Red Grange should be considered the pro football rushing record holder.

[iceman_1960]

Maybe now athletes will stop claiming preposterous "personal bests" in the bench press.

That will be one great benefit of this scandal.

(One high school football team"s website listed personal records in the bench press and squat for some of its players, that would make them stronger than any NFL player.)

[keithle1]

Can steroids/performance-enhancing drugs make ANYONE hit a baseball a lot better? Could I be out there hitting homers like Reggie Jackson?

[keithle1]

The only dude in baseball that didn''t take steroids was the guy who cleans the uniforms & hands out towels/sunflower seeds to the players.

[jonesforch]

Pettitte was not linked to steroids in the report.

This says it all he was not linked to steroids but HGH.

[concerned_2]

Go Figure.... The Government themselves boast a saying "BE ALL YOU CAN BE" Maybe the athletes were trying to do just that. Well, I guess that the saying "BE ALL YOU CAN BE" only applies to the government trying to get more of our citizens to enlist into the service to fight in wars that should never have went on as long as they have. Bring our loved ones home! Heck, maybe they should check all the Old Codgers on capital hill for Viagra... You know... the other Growth Drug! lmao

[missingamerica]

Would have been tough to be injured and be working for "perform or you''re gone" Steinbrenner...

[Krazcarl]

That claim sounds whimpy at best really!!!!

[republic1776]

Who cares!
Sports and Hollyweird suck!
It means nothing bu $$$$$$

[georgew1956]

are these the same guys that went on strike in 94 and said ( we don''t care about the fans )

its basketball season YES
I would rather watch *** Vitale

[cryonbrian]

They just could not leave it alone. They kept messing with Bonds and now the monkey is out the cage! Everyone was so busy downing Bonds when they should have downing everyone!

[JonathanPDX]

Oh, I''m just devastated! Wait! What are we talking about? Oh, yeah...baseball. What a shame. It''s too bad that...um, what was the subject? Ah, yes, baseball. Well, it''s too bad that they did what they did for, um, well, you know what I mean. Baseball! Yeah. Whatever.