Yet another baseball player came clean about steroid use earlier today. A few days after Yankee pitcher Andy Pettite admitted to taking human growth hormone (HGH) to help recover from an elbow injury back in 2002, Baltimore leadoff hitter Brian Roberts also said he used steroids once in 2003.

The two-time AL All-Star second baseman hit .290 and stole a career high 50 bases in 2007. His name was one of 86 which appeared on last Thursday’s Mitchell Report.

In it, the information noted that Roberts told then teammate Larry Bigbie that he had used steroids “once or twice.”

Earlier today, he released a statement to the Associated Press which read:

“In 2003, when I took one shot of steroids, I immediately realized that this was not what I stood for or anything that I wanted to continue doing. I never used steroids, human growth hormone or any other performance enhancing drugs prior to or since that single incident.

“I can honestly say before God, myself, my family and all of my fans, that steroids or any performance-enhancing drugs have never had any effect on what I have worked so hard to accomplish in the game of baseball.”

“I am very sorry and I deeply regret ever making that terrible decision,” Roberts added in the statement. “My only hope and prayer is that the Orioles, my family, friends and fans that have supported me so faithfully will forgive me.“ 

“I have worked very hard to develop a good reputation both on and off the field,” he also noted. “I have always taken pride in being a man of integrity and values. I know that by being a professional athlete, I am held to a very high standard. I never have and never will take that for granted. However, I am also human and I have made mistakes.“ 

Along with former Met now ESPN baseball analyst Fernando Vina, Roberts is the third player in the report to come clean adding further credence to the list which Former Senator George Mitchell worked extensively on.

The more players who come forward, the more embarrassing and humbling it gets for fans.

I still maintain that had baseball actually been able to have a tougher anti-drug policy in place, maybe you wouldn’t be seeing this widespread epidemic.

Part of the problem as magnified throughout the report was the lack of cooperation by the Players Association. (MLBPA).

We’ll try to document some of that a little later at home when there’s more time.

So, how do you think Roger Clemens looks right about now?

I will also try to have more on what I feel was lacking in the report.

See ya’ll later.