How Howe Became Baseball's Symbol Of Weakness
Perhaps it's sadly ironic that as Major League Baseball finally gets around to dealing with its steroid problem, we were all reminded of the last drug problem the sport had.
Steve Howe's death in a truck accident last week brought back memories for most baseball fans. Perhaps even more so than Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden, Howe was the poster boy for baseball's drug problem of the 1980s and '90s.
Steve Howe was a very good pitcher for the Dodgers and Yankees. But hear the name and there's a joke that follows it.
"This is your last chance," Leslie Nielsen said to Anna Nicole Smith in the 1994 movie Naked Gun 33 1/3. "And I'm not talking about one of those Major League Baseball Steve Howe kind of last chances."
Howe was suspended seven times by Major League Baseball, and became the first player in history to earn a lifetime ban for drugs (an arbitrator later had the suspension thrown out).
Howe was given chance after chance. He became the card to pull out when discussing the Pete Rose Hall of Fame case.
"How can Pete Rose not be in the Hall of Fame," I'd ask, "If Steve Howe keeps getting chances?"
Howe will remain an important figure in baseball as long as drug use is an issue. So maybe, he'll be important as long as the game is. Some have said to me that Howe's death reminded them of "when baseball knew how to get it right."
But what Howe's case shows is just how weak Major League Baseball is at punishing players. If Darryl Strawberry or Dwight Gooden were capable of helping teams right now, they probably have jobs. What remains is the idea that you will always get a second chance - if you have talent. It isn't known yet if Howe's death was drug or alcohol related. What is known is that his name will forever be synonymous with drug use in sports. If he's a symbol of the past, what will be the symbol of the future?
I could throw out some names, but you've heard them all before. Steve Howe's greatest contribution may be to come. Baseball players may not want to hear about health risks associated with steroid use.
They may not care about the message the use sends to youth. They may not care about records or the game's integrity. But I imagine none of them want the first line of their obituary to mention their drug addiction.
Sadly for Howe, that's how his began.
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