Steve Howe (baseball)
Steven Roy Howe was an American professional baseball relief pitcher. He played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins, Texas Rangers and New York Yankees, spanning 1980 to 1996. His baseball career ended in 1997 after a stint with the Sioux Falls Canaries of the independent Northern League.
A hard-throwing left-hander, Howe was the Rookie of the Year Award|Rookie of the Year] in 1980, saved the clinching game of the 1981 World Series, and was an 1982 [Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star in 1982]. However, his career was derailed by problems with alcohol and cocaine abuse. He was suspended seven times by MLB for drug-policy violations, and in 1992 he received a lifetime ban from baseball that he was able to overturn with an appeal. After each disciplinary action, he returned to show flashes of his former brilliance. He died in a single-vehicle accident in 2006, after which an autopsy identified the presence of methamphetamine in his system.
Baseball career
Born in Pontiac, Michigan, Howe played for Clarkston [High School (Michigan)|Clarkston High School] then went on to play college baseball at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He was a two-time All-Big Ten selection.He made his major league debut at the age of 22 in and was the National League Rookie of the Year that year, the second in a string of four Dodger rookies of the year. He saved 17 games during his ROY season, establishing a new rookie record. In the following 1981 [Major League Baseball season|strike-shortened season], Howe helped the 1981 [Los Angeles Dodgers season|Dodgers] win the World Series over the 1981 [New York Yankees season|New York Yankees].
Howe's career was plagued by alcohol and cocaine abuse; he first checked himself into a substance abuse clinic in 1983, but a relapse resulted in his suspension for the entire 1984 [Major League Baseball season|1984 season]. Over the course of his 17-year career, Howe was suspended seven times.
After briefly pitching for the Minnesota Twins season|Minnesota Twins] and Texas Rangers season|Texas Rangers] and being out of the major leagues for four years, Howe signed with the Yankees, where he once again pitched effectively. However, in, Howe became the second player to be banned from baseball for life because of substance abuse. He successfully appealed the ban and re-signed with the Yankees, where he had one final great season in, recording 15 saves and a 1.80 earned run average as the Yankees' closer. He failed to repeat the performance the following year and was relegated to a setup role, and was released in June after posting an 0–1 record with a 6.35 ERA. Howe finished his career in 1997 playing with the Sioux Falls Canaries of the independent Northern League.
For his career, Howe posted a record of 47 wins, 41 losses, 91 saves, and a 3.03 ERA in 497 games.
Autobiography
Howe published an autobiography in 1989, the middle of his baseball career. The book, Between the Lines: One Athlete's Struggle to Escape the Nightmare of Addiction, described his chemical dependency and hope for recovery based upon his newfound commitment to evangelical Christianity. The book was co-written with Jim Greenfield, a lawyer from the Philadelphia area.After baseball
Following his retirement from baseball, Howe worked in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, as a self-employed framing contractor. His company's name was All Star Framing.On April 28, 2006, Howe's pickup truck rolled over in Coachella, California, and he was killed. He was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash. The toxicology reports following his autopsy indicated he had methamphetamine in his system.