Yankees pitcher admits to doping

Pettitte recently signed a new one-year contract with the Yankees

New York Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte has admitted that he used human growth hormone (HGH) on two occasions in 2002 while he was recovering from injury.

He was one of 86 Major League players named this week in a report by former Senator George Mitchell which said the sport had a serious drug culture.

Major League Baseball (MLB) did not ban the use of HGH until the 2002 season.

"I accept responsibility for those two days. If what I did was an error in judgment, I apologise," Pettitte said.

"I was on the disabled list, and I had heard that human growth hormone could promote faster healing for my elbow.

"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.

READ THE FULL REPORT Mitchell report into drug use in Major League Baseball [6.6MB] Most computers will open this document automatically, but you may need Adobe Reader Download the reader here

"Though it was not against baseball rules, I was not comfortable with what I was doing, so I stopped."

However, he describes reports that he used illegal drugs on other occasions as "nonsense, wrong and hurtful".

The Yankees also issued a statement, adding that they "support his coming forward".

Pettitte, 35, pitched for the Yankees between 1995 and 2003, before spending three seasons with his hometown Houston Astros, and returning to New York for the 2007 season.

His close friend Roger Clemens, who has pitched alongside Pettitte for the last nine years at New York and Houston, was also named in the Mitchell report.

However, the seven-time winner of his league's award for best pitcher has already issued a statement through his lawyer in which he vehemently denied the allegations that he used performance-enhancing drugs.