NEW YORK -- Former major league infielder Fernando Vina on Monday admitted using human growth hormone in 2003 as he attempted to heal from injuries.

Vina, now an ESPN baseball analyst, was named last week in the Mitchell Report on performance-enhancing drugs. The report said he also purchased steroids from ex-New York Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski, but Vina denied those claims.

"I never bought steroids from him. All I used was HGH," Vina said in an interview on ESPN.

An All-Star second baseman with Milwaukee in 1998, Vina also played for Seattle, the Mets, St. Louis and Detroit during a 12-year career that ended in 2004.

Slow to recover from knee and hamstring injuries, Vina played only 61 games for the Cardinals in 2003. He said he was under pressure from the team and himself to get back on the field, so he tried HGH.

"I tried everything rehabbing," Vina said. "I came to a point that I was desperate."

New York Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte, also cited in the report, recently acknowledged using HGH for a similar reason.

-- AP