A hard-throwing left-hander, Howe was the Rookie of the Year in 1980, saved the clinching game of the 1981 World Series, and was an 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.
Howe's career was plagued by alcohol and cocaine abuse;[2] he first checked himself into a substance abuse clinic in 1983,[3] but a relapse resulted in his suspension for the entire 1984 season.[1][4] Over the course of his 17-year career, Howe was suspended seven times.[5]
After briefly pitching for the Minnesota Twins and 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 1992, Howe became the second player to be banned from baseball for life because of substance abuse (the first was Ferguson Jenkins, who was also reinstated). He successfully appealed the ban and re-signed with the Yankees, where he had one final great season in 1994, 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 1996 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 (ISBN9780940279254), 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.[5] The toxicology reports following his autopsy indicated he had methamphetamine in his system.[5]
