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| NEW YORK (AP) -- Steve Howe, the relief pitcher whose promising career was derailed by cocaine and alcohol abuse, died Friday when his pickup truck rolled over in Coachella, Calif. He was 48. Howe was killed at 5:55 a.m. PDT, said Dalyn Backes of the Riverside County coroner's office. The accident occurred about 130 miles east of Los Angeles. Howe was the 1980 NL Rookie of the Year with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and helped them win the World Series the next year. But for all of Howe's success on the field, the hard-throwing lefty was constantly troubled by addictions -- he was suspended seven times and became a symbol of the rampant cocaine problem that plagued baseball in the 1980s. "Steve played for me for five years and I thought the world of him," former Dodgers manager Tom Lasorda said. "I am truly sorry to hear about his passing and my deepest sympathies go out to his family." There was a moment of silence at Yankee Stadium before New York played Toronto on Friday night. Howe played for the Yankees from 1991-1996. Howe was 47-41 with 91 saves and a 3.03 ERA with the Dodgers, Minnesota, Texas and Yankees. His final season in the majors was 1996, and the Yankees released him in June. Two days after the Yankees let him go, Howe was arrested at a Delta Airlines terminal at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport when a loaded .357 Magnum was detected inside his suitcase. He later pleaded guilty to gun possession and was placed on three years probation and given 150 hours of community service. Howe tried a comeback in 1997 with Sioux Falls of the independent Northern League. In August, he was critically injured in a motorcycle accident in Montana and charged with drunken driving. |
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| Steve Howe, killed Friday in a one-vehicle accident, struggled with drug and alcohol problems and never quite fulfilled his promise as a big league relief pitcher. Here is a chronology of the well-publicized troubles in his on-again, off-again baseball career: June 5, 1979 -- First round-draft selection of the Los Angeles Dodgers. 1980 -- Saved 17 games for Los Angeles and named National League Rookie of the Year. 1982 -- Enters drug rehabilitation after the season. June 29, 1983 -- Fined one month's salary ($53,867) and placed on probation by the Dodgers after admitting a drug problem. July 15, 1983 -- Reported late for game and suspended two days by the Dodgers. Sept. 23, 1983 -- Missed team flight to Atlanta and suspended indefinitely by the Dodgers for what the team says is cocaine dependency. Goes into substance abuse rehabilitation. Dec. 15, 1983 -- Suspended for one year by Commissioner Bowie Kuhn for cocaine use. May 1984 -- In a grievance settlement, agreed not to play in 1984. June 23, 1985 -- Fined $300 by Los Angeles for arriving three hours late for a game. July 1, 1985 -- Placed on the restricted list by the National League for three days at the Dodgers' request after missing a game against Atlanta. Released by the Dodgers two days later. Aug. 12, 1985 -- Signed by the Minnesota Twins, but released a month later after missing three games with what the team said was a "temporary recurrence" of cocaine problem. March 20, 1986 -- Signed by San Jose of the California League. May 15 -- Suspended by the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues after allegedly testing positive for cocaine. The following month he was suspended again through Dec. 31 for the same reason; San Jose released him the day his suspension was over. July 11, 1987 -- Signed by Oklahoma City of the Class AAA American Association; the Texas Rangers purchased his contract the following month. November 1987 -- Agreed to two-year, $1.2 million contract with Texas. Jan. 19, 1988 -- Released by Texas after violating aftercare program by using alcohol. April 4, 1990 -- Signs contract with Salinas of the California League. Feb. 1991 -- Signs contract with Columbus of the International League. May 9, 1991 -- Contract purchased by the New York Yankees. Nov. 5, 1991 -- Signs one-year contract with the New York Yankees. Dec. 19, 1991 -- Arrested on cocaine charges in Kalispell, Mont. June 8, 1992 -- Suspended indefinitely after pleading guilty in U.S. District Court in Missoula, Mont., to a misdemeanor charge of attempting to buy a gram of cocaine. June 24, 1992 -- Suspended permanently by Commissioner Fay Vincent. Aug. 18, 1992 -- Fined the minimum $1,000 and ordered him to perform 100 hours of community service by a federal judge in Montana and placed on probation. Nov. 11, 1992 -- Reinstated by a baseball arbitrator. June 22, 1996 -- Released by Yankees. June 24, 1996 -- Arrested and charged with criminal possession of a weapon at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York when a police officer spots a loaded .357 Magnum pistol in his carry-on baggage. April 1997 -- Signs with the Sioux Falls Canaries of the independent Northern League in comeback attempt at age 39 but quits midseason because of an arm injury. Aug. 19, 1997 -- Critically injured in a motorcycle crash and later charged with drunken driving. Charges later dropped after prosecutors decided his blood test was improperly obtained. April 1, 1999 -- Suspended as a volunteer coach for his daughter's softball team in Whitefish, Mont. girls' softball team. April 28, 2006 -- Dies in a one-vehicle car accident in Coachella, Calif., when his pickup truck rolls over in the early morning. Howe was 48. |