"Seven-time drug offender hopes to capitalize on another chance. His career appeared over on numerous occasions, as recently as last summer when then-commissioner Fay Vincent made him the first baseball player banned for life as a result of a cocaine-possession charge. Howe contested and arbitrator George Nicolau overturned the ruling. The Yankees re-signed him to a two-year contract.
A hard thrower who remains highly effective, Howe held opponents to a .122 average last season, including .093 by right-handed hitters. He boasts a 1.92 ERA in two seasons with the Yankees.
Born March 10, 1958, in Pontiac, Michigan, Howe began his career as Los Angeles' first-round selection in 1979. He was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1980 when he saved 17 games for the Dodgers. His off-the-field woes surfaced shortly thereafter."
-Tony DeMarco (Ft. Worth Star-Telegram) and Tom Pedulla (Gannett Newspapers), The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1993 Edition
"On June 8, 1992, the Yankees had won as many games as they had lost and were knocking on the door, viable contenders in the AL East. They would finish the season 12 games under the .500 mark and up the track in fourth place, never to make another run at the contenders. Why was June 8 so significant, so devastating? Howe was suspended by then-commissioner Fay Vincent for violating Major League Baseball's substance abuse policy.
Howe took with him a 3-0 record, six saves and a 2.45 ERA.
'His absence made it tougher to define everybody's role,' says Manager Buck Showalter. 'It didn't affect how a guy pitched, but it did create a void that was tough to fill.'
With Howe and Steve Farr, the Yankees had the best one-two relief punch in baseball. Without Howe, the old 1-2 became the old 1.
Now Howe is back. The 1980 National League Rookie of the Year is brandishing that almost unhittable fastball and that supreme confidence. He makes no promises about his performance this year. All he says is, 'I'll be there.'
And Yankee fans are glad he is."
-The New York Yankees Official 1993 Yearbook
"1992 was a season full of promise that abruptly ended on June 8, when Howe was placed on the Commissioner's suspended list. At the time, he had posted a 3-0 record with six saves and a 2.45 ERA in 20 games. Over 22 innings he allowed nine hits (eight singles, one homer) and three walks, striking out 12.
Through May 4 (9 G) Steve was 3-0 with three saves and a 0.00 ERA (9.2 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 9 K). The only home run he allowed was on May 19 against California (Bobby Rose). In three successive appearances (May 19-25) he allowed five earned runs on five hits, raising his ERA from 0.68 to a season high 3.31. In his final four appearances, Steve pitched five consecutive 1-2-3 innings.
He retired the first batter upon entering a game 16 of 20 times. He stranded his first 10 inherited runners through April 27 and 20 of 25 overall.
Since joining the Yankees, Howe has allowed a .149 batting average (10-for-67, 1 BB, 13 K) to left-handed hitters, with Dave Bergman drawing the only walk (8/4/91), has allowed a .208 average (38-for-103, 9 BB, 33 K) to right-handed hitters and a .192 average (48-for-250) overall. He has walked one out of every 25 batters (10 BB, 250 AB).
He has given up two home runs in 250 at-bats, both to Bobby Rose, and has not had a left-handed hitter hit a homer off him since July 4, 1983 when Jose Cruz went deep in the Astrodome. He has retired 46 of 57 (81%) first batters faced when entering a game and stranded 41 of 51 (80%) inherited baserunners.
Steve made his final 1992 appearance on June 6, a 1-2-3 ninth inning, and was placed on the Commissioner's permanent suspension list on June 24. He was reinstated by arbitrator George Nicolau on November 12 and was credited with a full year of service.
He was signed by the Yankees as a free agent to a two-year contract in December of 1992. The contract extends through the 1994 season.
Howe was one of the premier left-handed relief pitchers in 1991. It was his first uninterrupted season in the majors since 1982.
He walked into spring training camp in Ft. Lauderdale on February 19 and then again on the 20th, impressing Yankee brass with the 90-plus MPH fastball he threw on the sidelines. Howe was invited to spring training by the Yankees on February 21.
He had not pitched in the majors since October 4, 1987. He started the season with Columbus and had his contract purchased on May 9. At the time of his promotion, he was 2-1 with a 0.00 ERA (18.0 IP, 11 H, 1 R, 0 ER) and was tied for the International League lead in saves (5). The Clippers were 10-2 in the 12 games he pitched.
Steve made his Yankee debut on May 11 against Oakland, pitching a scoreless inning. It was his first appearance at Yankee Stadium since October 28, 1981, when Steve saved the sixth (and clinching) game of the World Series as a Dodger.
He was 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA in his first eight appearances. Steve earned his first win on May 19 against Seattle, his first win since September 20, 1987.
His finest month was June, going 0-0 with two saves in as many opportunities and with a minuscule 0.47 ERA over 19.0 innings (2 BB, 17 K). Steve earned his first save on June 19 at Toronto in a 3-0 Yankee win. It was his first save since September 12, 1987. He ended the month by not allowing an earned run over his final nine appearances (12.1 IP), lowering his ERA from 1.45 to 0.87.
At the break, Steve was 2-0 with two saves in as many situations and a 1.31 ERA over 23 games. His final 1991 win came on July 12 at California and his final save came on July 18 at Oakland. The only home run he allowed all year came on July 27 against California (Bobby Rose), the first he had allowed since 1987.
He made four appearances in August (4.2 IP, 0 ER), from August 2-10, before landing on the disabled list on August 11 with tenderness in his left elbow. After a period of rest and rehabilitation, he was activated on September 2 after missing 22 games. Steve made his two final appearances in September, then missed the final 29 games of the season with a sore elbow. He was 1-1 with a save and a 2.57 ERA (14.0 IP) after the break.
Opponents hit .222 against Howe in 1991. Left-handed batters hit a club-low .128 (6-for-47) with only one walk and 13 strikeouts. Right-handed hitters batted .256. He had a 2.28 ERA at home and a 1.09 ERA on the road.
Steve walked only seven hitters (two intentionally), averaging 1.3 walks per nine innings. He averaged 4.9 strikeouts for every walk. He retired the first hitter he faced upon entering a game 30 of 37 times. He stranded his first 11 inherited base runners through June 12 and 21 of 26 overall.
After sitting out the 1988 and 1989 seasons, Steve spent 1990 at Class-A Salinas, an independent team in the California League. With the Spurs he appeared in 10 games and made two starts, posting a 0-1 record and a 2.12 ERA (17.0 IP, 19 H, 5 BB, 14 K).
He had minor surgery on June 9 at the Antelope Valley Hospital Medical Center in Lancaster, CA. Steve was expected to be out for a short period of time but developed a near-fatal blood clot in his lung as a result of the surgery and did not return until August 8.
Prior to the surgery, he pitched nine scoreless innings. He was appointed player-pitching coach a month into the season when the Salinas pitching coach left.
Steve played winter ball for Mazatlan in the Mexican League. He appeared in 11 regular-season games and had a 1.23 ERA over 14.2 innings (15 H, 3 BB, 9 K). He had two saves and finished six games. Steve appeared in seven postseason games and was 0-0 with a save and a 4.26 ERA over 12.2 innings. Combined for the season, he was 0-1 with three saves and a 2.63 ERA (27.1 IP, 27 H).
In 1979, Howe was the number one selection of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the June draft and the 16th player taken overall. The pick was Pittsburgh's originally but was obtained by the Dodgers when the Pirates signed free agent Lee Lacy. Howe spent the second half of the year with San Antonio in the Texas League, going 6-2 with a 3.13 ERA.
He was invited to the Dodger camp in 1980 as a non-roster player. He won a job out of spring training with a 94 MPH fastball. He established himself as the Dodgers' bullpen ace in netting National League's Rookie of the Year honors. Steve would be the second of four consecutive Dodgers to win the award, joining Rick Sutcliffe (1979), Fernando Valenzuela (1981) and Steve Sax (1982).
Steve was 3-1 with a 0.00 ERA in July. For the season he set a Dodger rookie record with 17 saves, breaking the club record set by Joe Black (1952). His save total was ninth in the National League. Steve allowed only one home run over 85.0 innings, to Houston's Joe Morgan on June 24.
In 1981 Steve led the Dodgers in saves (8) and appearances (41). He appeared in seven postseason games and had a 2.45 ERA. He won Game 4 of the World Series on October 24 and pitched the final 3.2 innings to earn the save in the sixth and deciding game on October 28 at Yankee Stadium.
Steve led the Dodgers in games (66) and saves (13) in 1982 while posting the lowest ERA (2.08) on the staff. He matched his career best with seven wins and was the only Dodger pitcher to be involved in 20 of the club's victories.
He was selected to the National League All-Star team after going 5-1 with a 1.69 ERA in the first half. He had a 1.84 ERA over 11 games in September. After the 1982 season, Steve spent five weeks at the Meadows, a drug rehabilitation facility in Wickenburg, Arizona.
Steve started out on fire in 1983, going 2-0 with seven saves and not allowing an earned run through May 17. At that time he entered the CareUnit in Orange, CA for further treatment. He returned to the active list on June 29 and was placed on a probationary program.
He was suspended by the Dodgers for the first time on July 16 after reporting three hours late for a game the previous day but was reinstated on July 17 after tests failed to show any prohibited substances. He was suspended for a second time on September 23 and missed the remainder of the season.
Despite his problems, Steve set career bests with 18 saves and a 1.44 ERA. He allowed just five bases on balls in 68.2 innings, giving up only two home runs.
He sat out the 1984 season, serving a one-year suspension for substance abuse imposed in December of 1983 by Commissioner Bowie Kuhn. Howe filed a grievance out of court and it was agreed that he would sit out the remainder of the season to concentrate on his rehabilitation. As part of the agreement, the suspension was lifted.
Howe spent one month in the Arizona Instructional League that fall and was 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA over five games (8.0 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K). On October 22, 1984, he signed a contract to play in the Dominican Winter League. He was pitching for Licey when after three appearances, he experienced a sore left elbow. On January 9 Steve underwent surgery to reroute the ulnar nerve in his left elbow.
He started the 1985 season with the Dodgers. On June 23 Steve did not arrive until the 7th inning of a game and was fined by the club. On June 29, he failed to appear at a charity dinner for which he was the chairman and did not appear for the Dodgers the following day. He was placed on the restricted list by the Dodgers on July 1 and released on July 3.
Steve was signed by the Minnesota Twins as a free agent on August 12. He made his American League debut that night and picked up the win, pitching 3.2 scoreless relief innings against Oakland. He pitched 5.0 scoreless innings in his first two appearances for the Twins. Steve's other win came with 3.2 scoreless innings against Milwaukee on September 3.
With the club's approval, he missed a team flight from Chicago to Cleveland on September 12 so he could appear on ABC's Nightline. He missed the team's five-game series in Cleveland before contacting club officials and admitting a relapse. Steve was released by the Twins on September 17.
Prior to the 1986 season, Steve signed with the Class-A San Jose Bees, an independent team in the California League. He was sidelined on May 1 when a drug test administered by the Commissioner's Office proved positive. Howe contested the results of that test and pitched without permission on May 14 resulting in a suspension by Commissioner Peter Ueberroth. He was reinstated on June 24 after undergoing additional therapy.
Howe was suspended again three weeks later when another test proved positive. A second test taken later that day showed no trace of drugs. Overall in '86, he was 3-2 with two saves and a 1.47 ERA for San Jose.
In 1987 Steve pitched briefly in June for Tabasco in the Class-AAA Mexican League, allowing four hits and no runs over 23.0 innings. He left when his wife Cindy was expecting the couple's second child. Signed by the Texas Rangers to a AAA Oklahoma City contract on July 12, Steve appeared in seven games (3 GS) for the 89ers and was 2-2 with a 3.48 ERA over 20.2 innings (26 H, 5 BB, 14 K).
He had his contract purchased by Texas on August 6 after not allowing a run in his final three appearances (7.1 P). He appeared in 24 games (all relief) for the Rangers and posted a 4.31 ERA. Steve ended the season by not allowing a run over his final six games (8.1 IP). He was released on January 17, 1988, following the violation of his After-Care Program for substance abuse.
Steve is the all-time winningest pitcher at the University of Michigan despite playing just three years for the Wolverines. He was 27-8 with a 1.79 ERA (265.2 IP, 53 ER) over 41 games. He also fanned 196 batters.
He was 9-3, 1.87 as a freshman (1977); 11-3, 1.78 as a sophomore (1978) and 7-2, 1.76 as a junior (1979). As a sophomore, he shared the Ray L. Fisher Most Valuable Player award with teammate Rick Leach. Steve pitched a 1-hit shutout over Baylor in a 4-0 win to open the 1978 College World Series. He was an All-Big Ten selection in his last two seasons.
Steve graduated from Clarkson High School (Pontiac, MI) in 1976. He enjoys carpentry and hunting."
-1993 New York Yankees Information Guide
Named left-handed pitcher on The Sporting News College Baseball All-America Team, 1979.
Named National League Rookie of the Year by the Baseball Writers Association of America, 1980.
-1993 New York Yankees Information Guide
Steven Roy Howe "Steve" Howser" (P) #57
Born March 10, 1958 in Pontiac, Michigan, resides in Whitefish, Montana. Height: 5-11, weight: 198. Bats left, throws left.
Married, Cindy (6/16/79), and father of Chelsea (9) and Brian (5). Attended University of Michigan.
Major League Service: 7 years, 161 days. Opening Day Age: 35.
-1993 New York Yankees Information Guide
