Pettitte says injury drove him to use HGH

[KFDM COOP]

Pettitte says injury drove him to use HGH

He says he took it for 2 days in '02 to speed healing of elbow; hormone not banned by baseball at the time

Accused in the Mitchell Report of having used human growth hormone while playing for the New York Yankees, former Astros pitcher Andy Pettitte on Saturday admitted he took the drug to overcome an elbow injury in 2002.

Pettitte, a Deer Park resident, admitted using human growth hormone on two occasions and said he did it to help him heal faster. Human growth hormone wasn't banned by baseball until 2005.

Pettitte, who signed a $16 million deal for the 2008 season with the Yankees on Wednesday, admitted to using the drug in a statement through agent Randy Hendricks but said he has never used steroids.

"If what I did was an error in judgment on my part, I apologize," Pettitte said in the statement.

"I accept responsibility for those two days. Everything else written or said about me knowingly using illegal drugs is nonsense, wrong and hurtful.

"I have the utmost respect for baseball and have always tried to live my life in a way that would be honorable. I wasn't looking for an edge; I was looking to heal."

The 409-page report from former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell linked more than 80 current and former players to performance-enhancing drugs, including Pettitte and longtime teammate and friend Roger Clemens.

The report alleged Clemens and Pettitte were given performance-enhancing drugs by trainer Brian McNamee, who worked for the Toronto Blue Jays while Clemens was with the team. McNamee later joined the Yankees with Clemens and Pettitte and has worked with both on an individual basis.

"We support (Pettitte) coming forward," the Yankees said in a statement.

Astros owner Drayton McLane didn't immediately return a phone message seeking comment.

The report says McNamee traveled to Tampa, Fla., at Pettitte's request during Pettitte's stay on the disabled list April 21 to June 14, 2002, and injected him with human grown hormone on two to four occasions.

The drugs were reported to have been obtained from Kirk Radomski, a former clubhouse assistant with the New York Mets who was a key player in Mitchell's investigation.

"In 2002 I was injured. I had heard that human growth hormone could promote faster healing for my elbow," Pettitte said. "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. 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."

'I have never used steroids'

Pettitte emphasized he has not used steroids.

"First, I would like to say that contrary to media reports, I have never used steroids," he said. "I have no idea why the media would say that I have used steroids, but they have done so repeatedly. This is hurtful to me and my family."

Pettitte, 35, won 149 games for the Yankees from 1995-2003 before signing a three-year contract to pitch with the Astros prior to the 2004 season. Pettitte's first season with the Astros was cut short because of elbow surgery.

Pettitte went 17-9 with a 2.39 ERA for the Astros in 2005 and helped them reach the World Series for the first time in club history.

He went 14-13 in 2006 before re-signing with the Yankees before the 2007 season.

When asked Thursday about Pettitte and Clemens being named in the report, former Astros manager Phil Garner said he had no reason to believe they took performance-enhancing drugs while with the Astros.

"I never saw any evidence from those guys they were doing anything," he said. "Not any at all."

Pettitte went 15-9 in 36 games with the Yankees this year and decided last week to return for another season after contemplating retirement.

"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," he said. "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."

Clemens' denials

On the day the Mitchell Report was released, Clemens denied the claims through attorney Rusty Hardin. Clemens, whose Hall of Fame credentials include 350 victories, seven Cy Young Awards and the 1986 American League Most Valuable Player award, was singled out in eight pages, with much of the information on him provided by McNamee.

The report alleged McNamee injected him with steroids during the 1998 season in Toronto and in the buttocks four to six times with testosterone from a bottle labeled either Sustanon 250 or Deca-Durabolin in the 2000 season.

"Roger Clemens adamantly, vehemently and whatever other adjectives can be used, denies that he has ever used steroids or whatever the word is for improper substances," Hardin said Thursday.

"He is really concerned and upset that he has been named in this report based on the allegations of apparently, reading the report, based on a trainer that he has had in the past."

[AJ25]

hey coop, you know this is the basketball thread, right? lol