Rookie of the Year: Steve Howe, 1980

Pitcher, Los Angeles Dodgers

Age:  22

Bats – Left, Throws – Left

Height: 6’1”    Weight: 180

Prior to 1980:

A Michigan native, Howe was a pitching star for Clarkston High School, which won the Class A state championship in 1976. Moving on to the Univ. of Michigan, he continued to excel and was chosen by the Dodgers in the first round of the 1979 amateur draft. Assigned to San Antonio of the Class AA Texas League, Howe started 13 games and posted a 6-2 record and a 3.13 ERA with 57 strikeouts in 95 innings pitched. Invited to spring training by the Dodgers in 1980, he impressed manager Tommy Lasorda with his attitude in addition to his excellent speed, control, and outstanding sinker. He made the club as a lefthanded reliever.

1980 Season Summary

Appeared in 59 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 59 [19, tied with Neil Allen & Bob Shirley]

Games Started – 0

Complete Games – 0

Wins – 7

Losses – 9

PCT - .438

Saves – 17 [9, tied with Joe Sambito & Woody Fryman]

Shutouts – 0

Innings Pitched – 84.2

Hits – 83

Runs – 33

Earned Runs – 25

Home Runs – 1

Bases on Balls – 22

Strikeouts – 39

ERA – 2.66

Hit Batters – 2

Balks – 0

Wild Pitches – 1

Midseason Snapshot: 2-4, ERA – 2.19, SV – 7, SO – 17 in 37 IP

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Most strikeouts, game – 2 on nine occasions

Batting

PA – 11, AB – 11, R – 1, H – 1, 2B – 0, 3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 0, BB – 0, SO – 3, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .091, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF – 0

Fielding

Chances – 24

Put Outs – 3

Assists – 20

Errors – 1

DP – 0

Pct. - .958

 Awards & Honors:

NL Rookie of the Year: BBWAA

NL ROY Voting (Top 5):

Steve Howe, LAD: 80 pts. – 12 of 24 first place votes, 67% share

Bill Gullickson, Mon.: 53 pts. – 5 first place votes, 44% share

Lonnie Smith, Phila.: 49 pts. –  4 first place votes, 41% share

Ron Oester, Cin.: 16 pts. – 1 first place vote, 13% share

Dave Smith, Hou.: 13 pts. – 2 first place votes, 11% share

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Dodgers went 92-70 to finish tied for first in the NL Western Division with the Houston Astros, which necessitated a season-extending single-game playoff, won by the Astros, causing LA to finish second at 92-71. The pitching staff led the league in shutouts (19) and fewest hits allowed (1358). The slow-starting Dodgers managed to rally and catch the Astros by the All-Star break. They stayed close behind the rest of the way until sweeping Houston in the season’s last three games to force the playoff.

Aftermath of ‘80:

Howe followed up his outstanding rookie season with another solid performance in the strike-shortened 1981 campaign. Appearing in 41 games, he compiled 8 saves to go along with a 5-3 record, 2.50 ERA, and 32 strikeouts over 54 innings. The Dodgers advanced to the World Series and Howe pitched in seven games. He had a win and a save in the World Series victory over the Yankees. Howe turned in another solid season in 1982, appearing in 66 games and registering 13 saves, a 7-5 tally, and a 2.08 ERA. Along the way he was an All-Star for the only time in his career. In the offseason he checked into a rehab for cocaine and alcohol abuse. He relapsed during the 1983 season, missed considerable time, and was suspended for the last ten days of the regular season, missing the postseason as well. He ended up pitching in 46 games and produced a 4-7 mark with 18 saves and a 1.44 ERA. Fined $54,000 he was suspended for the entire 1984 season by Commissioner Bowie Kuhn. Howe returned in 1985 but he wore out his welcome with the Dodgers due to several no-show incidents. Struggling on the mound as well, he was released in July and signed with the Minnesota Twins in August. He lasted several incident-free weeks with Minnesota until disappearing for 72 hours following a guest appearance on Nightline. Admitting to a relapse, he was immediately let go by the Twins. The new commissioner, Peter Ueberroth actively discouraged teams from signing Howe who joined the San Jose Bees, an unaffiliated club in the Class A California League in 1986. Effective until failing a drug test in May, he was suspended for a month and was let go in July after failing another test. He next sought to play for Japan’s Seibu Lions in 1987, but their commissioner disallowed a deal due to Howe’s drug history. With the Texas Rangers in contention in ’87 and in need of help in the bullpen, they signed Howe in July and he was reasonably effective, appearing in 24 games and posting a 3-3 tally with a save and a 4.31 ERA. The Rangers released him during the offseason due to “a major breach of his after-care program” and for the next few years he played semipro ball in Montana and for another California League team and suffered an injury to his shoulder. Claiming sobriety, Howe was signed by the New York Yankees in 1991 and pitched well before an elbow injury shut him down in August. He ended up with 37 appearances and a 3-1 record along with a 1.68 ERA and three saves. Arrested for cocaine possession in December, he was banned by Commissioner Fay Vincent, a penalty that was lessened following a players’ association appeal. He was 3-0 with 6 saves and a 2.45 ERA in 20 1992 appearances as the Yankees stuck with him. Despite injuries and a drop in his velocity, he pitched in 51 games in 1993 and went 3-5 with four saves and a 4.97 ERA. He was the bullpen closer during the strike-shortened 1994 season, saving 15 games and compiling a 3-0 mark and 1.80 ERA in 40 appearances. While he stayed clean in 1995 his performance dropped off to 6-3 with two saves and a 4.96 ERA. Pitching poorly in 1996, Howe was released by the Yankees in June, ending his major league career. Overall, in the major leagues he appeared in 497 games and produced a 47-41 record with a 3.03 ERA and 91 saves. He struck out 328 batters in 606 innings. With the Dodgers he appeared in 231 games and went 24-25 with a 2.35 ERA and 59 saves along with 183 strikeouts over 328.2 innings. In 9 postseason appearances, he was 1-0 with one save, a 3.75 ERA, and 8 strikeouts in 12 innings pitched. A highly effective reliever at his best, whose career commenced with great promise, he is probably best remembered for his seven drug suspensions. Howe died in 2007 at age 48 in a single-vehicle accident with methamphetamine in his system. The sad story was finally over.

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Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major league.