Career
He played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins, Texas Rangers and New York Yankees. However, his career was derailed by problems with drug and alcohol abuse. He was suspended a number of times by Major League Baseball for drug-policy violations, but several times returned to show flashes of his former brilliance.
Born in Pontiac, Michigan, Howe was a two-time All-Big Ten selection at the University of Michigan.
He saved 17 games during his ROY season, establishing a new rookie record. 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 him being suspended for the entire 1984 season. Over the course of his 17-year career, Howe would be suspended seven times.
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 suspension 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 European Research Area. Howe finished his career in 1997 playing with the Sioux Falls Canaries of the independent Northern League.
Foreign his career, Howe posted a record of 47 wins, 41 losses, 91 saves, and a 3.03 European Research Area in 497 games.
The memoir was co-written with Jim Greenfield. 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.
The toxicology reports following his autopsy indicated he had methamphetamine in his system.