MLB

Pettitte regrets taking HGH: ‘I’ve never tried to cheat’

Andy Pettitte’s borderline candidacy for the Hall of Fame may be derailed by his admitted use of human growth hormone.

The Yankees left-hander acknowledged that was the lone regret of his career.

“I don’t even want to bring this up, but the whole thing happened with the HGH. … I obviously regret that got out,” Pettitte said after announcing his retirement Friday. “I think kids who have watched me handle that situation know I would never think that was the right thing to do.”

Other players who have owned up to using performance-enhancing drugs have not fared well in getting to Cooperstown. Pettitte said he used HGH to recover from an elbow injury.

“I know in my heart and I’ve never tried to cheat this game,” Pettitte said. “I’ve never tried to cheat at anything in my life and I’ve kind of danced around that the last five or six years, but that’s the truth.”

He also knows it’s part of his legacy.

“I hate that,” Pettitte said. “I hate that a young person would ever think that I would do something to cheat this game or to cheat other players.”

Regardless, his guilt likely will outweigh his 255 career victories and 19 others in the playoffs. The 41-year-old said the Hall of Fame was not something that drove him.

“I don’t think about the Hall of Fame unless someone asks me,” Pettitte said. “If that was something I desired, I would have never retired and then I would still be pitching.”

And he doesn’t seem to like his chances of enshrinement.

“Do I feel like I dominated this sport as a pitcher? No. I don’t,” Pettitte said. “Every outing for me, I feel like, has been an absolute grind, to tell you the truth. When I look at lineups and teams I’m facing, it seems like every hitter is hitting .300 off me.”

He pointed to soon-to-be former teammates Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter as better examples.

“When I think of dominance and guys who have dominated, I think of our closer,” Pettitte said. “Him and [Jeter] are first-ballot Hall of Famers. They make the game look easy, and it ain’t easy.