by Nathan Halfpenny

Created on: July 17, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

Andy Pettitte is no more greater of an athlete today than he was last year, the year prior or even two years ago. Having admitted to using Human Growth Hormone (HGH) has not miraculously allowed him to better locate his pitches, throw harder, or put more spin on his curveball. Absolving himself of the guilt he must have been carrying over the past few years perhaps made him better able to focus on pitching as opposed to worrying about getting caught using steroids, but that one act did not spontaneously make him a better athlete. The argument could be made that Pettitte is a better person for having admitted to using HGH but not a better athlete. Admitting to his team, his fans, and certainly the circus that is the New York media must have been incredibly difficult and required a great deal of courage, but has no affect on his athletic ability. Athletic ability is something that a person is born with, it isn't acquired or earned through steroid use or anything else. HGH may have made him stronger and has been shown to improve hand-eye coordination, but athletic ability is instinctual and cannot be gained through supplements.

Pettitte's statistics this season have improved a bit from last year but this can be attributed to a number of causes. Perhaps Pettitte now focuses more on his mechanics and his techniques because he no longer is taking HGH, he may have felt like he did not need to work as much on these things because of the steroids. Maybe his body did not respond very well to HGH in his system and was causing him some kind of physical problems during games when he pitched, steroid use has been attributed to ligament and tendon deterioration. The reason for Pettitte's better performance this year could even be attributed to his confidence. He started off the season HGH free and pitched well from the beginning of the season, maybe this string of early successes led to an increase of confidence and a realization that he did not need to use steroids to pitch well. Andy Pettitte was a good athlete before he began using HGH, he was a good athlete while he was using it and he has been a good athlete since he stopped using it. An admission of guilt does not make a person a better athlete, no matter the effect it has on their confidence, level of focus or any other intangible qualities or characteristics. Pettitte is the same athelete now as he was when he was using HGH.

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