Pettitte: Clemens spoke of HGH use

Roger Clemens told New York Yankees teammate Andy Pettitte nearly 10 years ago that he used human growth hormone, Pettitte said in a sworn affidavit to Congress, the Associated Press learned Tuesday.

Pettitte disclosed the conversation to the congressional committee holding today’s hearings on drug use in baseball, a person familiar with the affidavit said. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the document had not been made public.

According to the person familiar with the affidavit, who said it was signed Friday night, Pettitte also said Clemens backtracked when the subject of HGH came up again in conversation in 2005, before the same House committee held the first hearing on steroids in baseball.

Pettitte said in the affidavit that he asked Clemens in 2005 what he would do if asked by the media about HGH, given his admission years earlier. According to the account told to the AP, the affidavit said Clemens responded by saying Pettitte misunderstood the previous exchange in 1999 or 2000 and that, in fact, Clemens had been talking about HGH use by his wife in the original conversation.

Clemens did, however, get some help in his public relations push from an old teammate, when the AP obtained a sworn affidavit in which Jose Canseco said he has never seen Clemens “use, possess or ask for steroids or human growth hormone.”

The affidavit, dated Jan. 22, is part of the evidence gathered by the committee holding today’s hearing.

“I have never had a conversation with Clemens in which he expressed any interest in using steroids or human growth hormone,” Canseco said in the affidavit. “Clemens has never asked me to give him steroids or human growth hormone, and I have never seen Clemens use, possess or ask for steroids or human growth hormone.”

No third party needed

Bud Selig said Major League Baseball doesn’t need to turn its drug testing over to a third party but should increase the amount of independence of the doctor who runs it.

Dr. Bryan Smith, MLB’s independent program administrator, is best suited to run the program because he understands baseball’s intricacies, Selig said prior to a banquet for fans of the Notre Dame baseball team.

“Every sport has different nuances,” Selig said. “Comparing our sport to Olympics sometimes in terms of penalties is just not fair because we play every day, every year. But we need to work on independence and transparency. There’s no question about that.”

The Mitchell Report recommended that baseball increase independence and transparency.

“If it doesn’t work, I’m so anxious to solve the problem that I won’t rule anything out at this point,” Selig said.

Strawberry will pay IRS

Former baseball star Darryl Strawberry will pay the IRS more than $430,000 in back taxes, penalties and interest.

A judgment was signed by U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks. Strawberry was convicted of tax evasion in 1995 over income from autographs and memorabilia. He is agreeing to pay the IRS for tax years 1989 and 1990.

Court papers show that Strawberry has already paid the IRS more than $8,600.

Hernandez joins Twins

The Minnesota Twins added some seasoning to their suddenly raw rotation.

Right-hander Livan Hernandez, who turns 33 on Feb. 20, agreed to a $5 million, one-year contract with the Twins that could earn him an additional $2 million in performance bonuses, raising the average age for a group ransacked by the departures of Johan Santana and Carlos Silva.