12/21/24
April 28, 2006
Steve Howe killed in truck accident:: The 1980 NL Rookie Of The Year, who was suspended seven times in his career for drug offenses, and became a poster child for the laxness of Major League Baseball's drug policy in the 1980's and 90's, died in a truck accident this morning. He was 48.
posted by chicobangs to baseball at 06:16 PM - 28 comments
Just two days ago on Sporting News Radio he was brought up in exactly that context, chico. .
posted by geekyguy at 06:34 PM on April 28, 2006
Always the butt of baseball's drug or alcohol jokes... WHATEVER happened, drop your eyes, say a word and think about what we can and/or could have been... RIP, Steve
posted by wolfdad at 07:23 PM on April 28, 2006
I will mourn Steve, drugs is a sickness and mind altering. So many young players are still doing drugs.I did'nt know Steve but I knew so many like him that also choose this path. may he rest in peace and comfort his family and friends
posted by reinosar at 07:49 PM on April 28, 2006
It is a damned shame when people lose their lives, especially when it involves drugs and alcohol. REMEMBER, despite the fact that Howe's past is quite checkered, we don't know if the accident was the result of his being impaired. Perhaps the biggest idiots are those that rush to judgment and place blame and ridicule on someone without knowing the facts or without knowing ANYTHING about addictions. Stick your "Yeah, but he probably . . ." directly up your asses.
posted by CRAB at 08:07 PM on April 28, 2006
.
posted by wingnut4life at 08:26 PM on April 28, 2006
I live and breathe Dodger Blue and Steve was one of my favorites (he was an underdog). So today I weep and mourn for a Los Angeles Dodger named Steve Howe. O’Rest in the hands of God my brother, for you’ll never feel pain again. And may the Lord giveth strength to your family and friends in this time of mourn. God bless.
posted by popeye111 at 08:45 PM on April 28, 2006
after all his work towards recovery, it ends like this. so tragic.
posted by ninjavshippo at 08:57 PM on April 28, 2006
Hadn't heard about this.....that makes me really sad. He dealt with a lot of bad stuff in his short life, now this.
posted by eccsport78 at 09:08 PM on April 28, 2006
From the Desert Sun it sure sounds like he fell asleep at the wheel:
A witness told authorities Howe passed him at “a reasonable speed” but then for some unknown reason drifted off the roadway, Castro said. Howe was traveling in the far left lane when his truck veered into the median, where it continued for some time until it ran into a small wash then began to roll, Castro said. Howe, who was not wearing a seat belt was ejected from the truck and the vehicle came to rest on top of him, Castro said.
posted by ?! at 09:09 PM on April 28, 2006
As a recovering alcoholic, I feel his family's pain. Whether he was impaired or not is irrelevent. What is relevent is his struggle with addiction, his family's pain, and the early death of a good man.
posted by IRUNNIKE87 at 10:24 PM on April 28, 2006
.
posted by elovrich at 10:40 PM on April 28, 2006
Howe, who was not wearing a seat belt was ejected from the truck and the vehicle came to rest on top of him, Castro said. I'd be willing to bet that he survives with minor injuries if he had just worn a seatbelt. It's unfathomable to me that there are people who still drive/ride in cars without wearing a seatbelt. I feel sorry for his family and friends that he has died, but chalk this up as another stupid act by a man whose career is virtually defined by them. This time, however, he doesn't get another chance.
posted by grum@work at 11:40 PM on April 28, 2006
What a bummer. I won't speculate if Howe was inebriated or not, but I've had friends die in accidents that involved all of A) drug/alcohol issues, B) non-seatbelt issues and C) just randomly falling asleep at the wheel (while sober and wearing a seatbelt). None of those have been easy to handle. Given Howe's past, I truly hope his family and friends can find some solace somehow....somewhere.
posted by Ufez Jones at 01:04 AM on April 29, 2006
Whether he was impaired or not is irrelevent. How would that be irrelevant? Impaired drivers kill people. This is a tragedy for Howe and his family, but I'm not getting why he's receiving so much sympathy here. Aside from early success in the bigs and a record number of drug suspensions, what's he known for that would attract so much affection?
posted by rcade at 07:38 AM on April 29, 2006
Impaired drivers kill people. Like my dad. Yeah, it matters.
posted by Texan_lost_in_NY at 09:51 AM on April 29, 2006
what's he known for that would attract so much affection? I think Howe represents, for many fans, both the torturous struggle of addiction and the boundlessness of human forgiveness. Howe is the poster boy for second chances, and I think even those who may have felt he didn't deserve all of them saw the humanity in those who bestowed those chances. It's not like Howe was a mega-superstar who was granted a waiver for all his weaknesses because baseball needed him -- he was an above-average pitcher who, for whatever reason, was consistently absolved. Howe had the nine lives that we all would like to think we have. He just burned them all up too quickly.
posted by BullpenPro at 10:15 AM on April 29, 2006
"commissioner Bud Selig said that unlike with steroids, baseball was well aware of its troubles then."......with a straight face???? Ostrich ‘til the end. well the steroid testing will go much like all drug testing - although I don't think that steroids have a chemically addicting nature - some will use. I didn't realize that Howe had been banned for life. I'm more interested in the ramifications regarding his Hall of Fame eligibility. His absense on the ballot wasn't particularly conspicuous 5 years after retirement I'm sure. But having been denied being on the ballot ..is he now eligible...the lifetime ban essentially lifted. Just wondering because of that other player/manager with a lifetime ban and his quest for the Hall. It has been my longstanding opinion that the Pete Rose case should be handled that way. In the future when visitors go to the Hall Pete will have a plague ...just not in his lifetime.
posted by knuckleballer at 10:38 AM on April 29, 2006
This is a tragedy for Howe and his family, but I'm not getting why he's receiving so much sympathy here. Seconded enthusiastically.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 10:42 AM on April 29, 2006
Sorry about your dad, Texan.
posted by rcade at 11:57 AM on April 29, 2006
The only reason this guy is getting sympathy from some people is because he is a former athlete and some people see them as a god. In reality he is a screw-up and although given chance after chance after chance he continued to screw up until he killed himself. It is just thankful that he didn't injure or kill anyone else.
posted by joromu at 02:33 PM on April 29, 2006
Aside from early success in the bigs and a record number of drug suspensions, what's he known for that would attract so much affection? judging from the comments of former teammates and coaches, howe was regarded as a good teammate and an overall good guy. bernie williams mentioned that he took him under his wing when he first came up and helped him through some rough spots. yeah, he was given too many chances, and he kept on fucking up. but that doesn't mean that his peers and fans weren't hoping that he would clean himself up and play up to the potential that so many thought he had. and from a personal perspective, his battles with addiction remind of a good friend of mine who just couldn't stay clean. the fact that he's addict doesn't make me care for him any less. he's a good person at heart and was always a good friend. i lost touch with him, but as far as i know he's still alive and he's still using. and i still hope that he gets clean one day. so yeah, howe gets my sympathy, as does his family.
posted by goddam at 02:36 PM on April 29, 2006
Personally, I feel that having sympathy for the dead is like closing the barn door after the horse has run away, but that said, I posted this story because it struck me that the difference in attitudes towards drug use then versus now was pretty marked. Honestly, I don't know if things are better now just because penalties are harsher.
posted by chicobangs at 03:54 PM on April 29, 2006
In reality he is a screw-up and although given chance after chance after chance he continued to screw up until he killed himself. Sure, but the important thing is what kind of person each of us is, not the person who died. Given I never walked a mile in anyone else's moccassins, I can muster a bit of quiet reflection upon the passing of another sentinent being.
posted by yerfatma at 05:32 PM on April 29, 2006
Would all the sympathizers here feel the same way if this guy injured or killed someone close to them????
posted by joromu at 08:55 PM on April 29, 2006
Death closes all. What are you personally hoping to achieve by running down someone who's dead? Steve Howe's not exactly Pol Pot.
posted by yerfatma at 09:31 PM on April 29, 2006
Howe wasn't even in the minority when it came to dealing with his addiction. It is a fact of the addict's life that he or she will have relapses and blow many "chances." It's the nature of the disease. I feel sympathy for anyone killed by an impaired driver. And I am not one of the Howe sympathizers, but remember people -- addict does not equal killer. Some addicts have killed. Some people have been killed by tea totalers. Are you as willing to jump all over, say, Cal Ripkin, if he for "some unknown reason drifted off the roadway" and dies?
posted by ?! at 09:35 PM on April 29, 2006
Whether he was impaired or not is irrelevent. I agree with this statement for this particular event. In this case, the person who is being accused of being impaired is the only victim. Texan, I am also very sorry to hear about your dad. I certainly don't presume to walk in your shoes, but I would think the knowledge that he died by the hand of an impaired driver did nothing to alleviate your grief, and probably added to it. How would knowing whether or not Steve Howe was impaired satisfy anyone but the bystanders and gossips? Personally, I feel that having sympathy for the dead is like closing the barn door after the horse has run away I very much agree with chicobangs. The sympathy should be -- and I think for the most part has been here -- directed toward the family.
posted by BullpenPro at 11:29 AM on May 01, 2006
I know he's not going to be mourned by many people, but he was always in the back onf my mind during this whole steroid discussion, as a reminder of how much worse things used to be not all that long ago. I'd like to think that now, no one would get as many chances as he did without much better rehabilitation than he ever got. (I'd like to think.)