| Steve Howe | |
|---|---|
 Howe in 1981 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born:(1958-03-10)March 10, 1958 Pontiac, Michigan, U.S. | |
| Died: April 28, 2006(2006-04-28) (aged 48) Coachella, California, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 11, 1980, for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| June 21, 1996, for the New York Yankees | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 47–41 |
| Earned run average | 3.03 |
| Strikeouts | 328 |
| Saves | 91 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Steven Roy Howe (March 10, 1958 – April 28, 2006) was an American professionalbaseballrelief pitcher. He played 12 seasons inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for theLos Angeles Dodgers,Minnesota Twins,Texas Rangers andNew York Yankees, spanning 1980 to 1996. His baseball career ended in 1997 after a stint with theSioux Falls Canaries of the independentNorthern League.
A hard-throwing left-hander, Howe was theRookie of the Year in 1980,saved the clinching game of the1981 World Series, and was anAll-Star in 1982. However, his career was derailed by problems withalcohol andcocaine 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 asingle-vehicle accident in 2006, after which an autopsy identified the presence ofmethamphetamine in his system.
Born inPontiac,Michigan, Howe played forClarkston High School then went on to playcollege baseball at theUniversity of Michigan inAnn Arbor. He was a two-time All-Big Ten selection.[1]
He made hismajor league debut at the age of 22 in1980 and was theNational LeagueRookie of the Year that year, the second in a string of four Dodger rookies of the year (Rick Sutcliffe,Fernando Valenzuela, andSteve Sax). He saved 17 games during his ROY season, establishing a new rookie record. In the followingstrike-shortened season, Howe helped theDodgers win theWorld Series over theNew York Yankees.
Howe's career was plagued by alcohol and cocaine abuse;[2] he first checked himself into asubstance abuse clinic in 1983,[3] but a relapse resulted in his suspension for the entire1984 season.[1][4] Over the course of his 17-year career, Howe was suspended seven times.[5]
After briefly pitching for theMinnesota Twins andTexas Rangers and being out of the major leagues for four years, Howe signed with the Yankees, where he once again pitched effectively. However, in1992, Howe became the second player to be banned from baseball for life because of substance abuse (the first wasFerguson Jenkins, who was also reinstated).[6][7] He successfully appealed the ban and re-signed with the Yankees, where he had one final great season in1994, recording 15 saves and a 1.80earned run average as theYankees' closer. He failed to repeat the performance the following year and was relegated to a setup role, and was released in June1996 after posting an 0–1 record with a 6.35 ERA. Howe finished his career in 1997 playing with theSioux Falls Canaries of the independentNorthern League.
For his career, Howe posted a record of 47 wins, 41 losses, 91 saves, and a 3.03 ERA in 497 games.
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 (ISBN 9780940279254), described his chemical dependency and hope for recovery based upon his newfound commitment toevangelical Christianity. The book was co-written with Jim Greenfield, a lawyer from the Philadelphia area.
Following his retirement from baseball, Howe worked inLake Havasu City, Arizona, as a self-employedframing contractor. His company's name was All Star Framing.
On April 28, 2006, Howe's pickup truck rolled over inCoachella, California, and he was killed.[8] He was not wearing aseat belt at the time of the crash.[5] Thetoxicology reports following his autopsy indicated he hadmethamphetamine in his system.[5]
· Baseball Almanac| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |