NEW YORK -- Turns out Wild Thing's fastball had a little extra juice.

Actor Charlie Sheen tells Sports Illustrated in its latest issue that he took steroids "for like six or eight weeks" while filming the 1989 movie "Major League."

He adds that the performance-enhancing drugs helped his fastball go from 79 mph to 85 mph.

Sheen played fireballing relief pitcher Ricky "Wild Thing" Vaughn, whose wayward pitches were often "jussst a bit outside," as Bob Uecker's character, radio broadcaster Harry Doyle, sarcastically announced during the hit comedy.

Sheen, who has made recent headlines for erratic behavior and his firing from the show "Two and a Half Men," says it was the only time he took steroids and they made him a bit more irritable than normal.