Jason Giambi twiddled his thumbs, crossed his legs, and fidgeted in his chair.

He said he was sorry five times. He apologized three times.

To the New York Yankees. To his teammates. To the fans.

But he never said why. And he never talked about using steroids, never mentioned the word.

Giambi came to Yankee Stadium yesterday to make his first public comments since it was reported in December that he’d told a federal grand jury in 2003 that he took steroids for at least three seasons.

“When I went into that grand jury, I told the truth,” he said.

But that’s about as far as he went, despite repeated prodding.

“I know the fans might want more, but at this present time, because of all the legal matters, I can’t get into specifics,” he said. “Someday, hopefully, I will be able to.”

Said his agent, Arn Tellem: “The answers are there if you look for them.”

On this day, though, Giambi wasn’t telling all.

“There’s been a lot of distraction, definitely, over the last year, and I’m sorry for that, I really am,” Giambi said. “I feel I let down the fans, I feel I let down the media, I feel I let down the Yankees, not only the Yankees, but my teammates.

“I accept full responsibility for that,” he went on. “I’m sorry, but I’m trying to go forward now. Most of all, to the fans, I’m sorry. I know it’s going to be hard, and I understand how they feel.”

Only 10 days before he’s scheduled to report to spring training, iambi met with print reporters for 43 minutes with General Manager Brian Cashman, manager Joe Torre, and Tellem at his side. He later did another interview session for television and radio.

“If it was up to Jason, he would tell you everything,” Tellem said.

Wearing a dark striped suit and black shirt, sporting several days of beard, Giambi’s face looked red, not pale as it did much of last season. His weight was back up to about 235 pounds. He greeted fans outside the ballpark and signed autographs.

“It takes a hell of a big man to stand up and apologize to his teammates, to New York Yankee fans, and to baseball fans everywhere and admit he was wrong,” Yankees owner George Steinbrenner said in a statement.

Giambi, who last year repeatedly denied using illegal steroids, is owed $82 million from the Yankees as part of the $120 million, seven-year contract he was given before the 2002 season. Steinbrenner spoke with him by telephone a few weeks ago.

“The biggest thing that I told him was I wasn’t a quitter,” Giambi said. “I told him that I was ready to play, and I was going to be that player that he had signed.”

He said he had not read the San Francisco Chronicle story, which cited transcripts of his grand jury testimony, and he would not say whether the newspaper’s report was accurate.