Washington - AFP
New York Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte told jurors in the perjury trial of former teammate Roger Clemens that Clemens admitted to him 12 years ago that he had used human growth hormone. Pettitte, attempting a baseball comeback with the Yankees at age 39, made a surprise appearance at the perjury trial of Clemens, a retired legend who told a 2008 US Congressional hearing that he never took performance-enhancing drugs. All that Pettitte said he could recall about the details of the key conversation with Clemens is that Clemens mentioned that he had taken human growth hormones and they could help him recover from injury. Pettitte said the remarks came in passing during a workout session between the 1999 and 2000 Major League Baseball seasons. When presented with a similar statement from Pettitte to Congressional investigators four years ago at the hearing where he is charged with lying when denying he was a dope cheat, Clemens said Pettitte \"misremembered\" the remarks. Pettitte, who retired last year after 16 major league seasons, has admitted that he received human growth hormone (HGH) from Brian McNamee, the trainer who worked with Clemens and Pettitte. Clemens had made no such statement. Pettitte says he used HGH in 2002 while trying to recover from an injury and that he used it again in 2004. An earlier trial on the matter last July was declared a mistrial by US District Court Judge Reggie Walton, who is overseeing the current proceedings.