Howe Reportedly Will Be Activated by Twins Sunday

In the five weeks since he asked for and received his release from the Dodgers, Steve Howe has talked to several interested clubs and also considered the possibility of retirement, of never pitching again.

“That would have been disappointing,” Howe said Friday night, “but I’d do whatever it takes to preserve the sanity of my family.”

Having concluded that his and wife Cyndy’s sanity was in jeopardy amid the pressure of Los Angeles, Howe believes he can preserve it here.

“There aren’t any guarantees,” he said, “but from what I’ve heard about it (the comparatively peaceful nature of the Twin Cities), I think it will help a lot.”

Howe pitched 15 minutes of batting practice as part of his workout with the Twins Friday night. He has reportedly agreed to a 1986 contract and will be activated Sunday. A Twins’ publicist supervised his interviews Friday night after the club, at Howe’s request, distributed guidelines prohibiting questions about his past, his private life and his problems with drugs.

Howe sat in the Twins’ dugout and said this is a fresh start and that “it was time to move on because there were too many people in Los Angeles who wouldn’t let me forget.”

He said it ultimately reached the point that his wife was even afraid to go shopping because of the hassles. He said he had to kick people off his lawn and out of the bushes, and was so severely damaged by media portrayals that he was going to start asking for editing rights.

“I hope that won’t happen here,” he said. “I don’t think it will.”

He said he chose Minnesota over other offers because he was made comfortable by the low-key approach when he first visited here July 22. Saying that the Twins wanted to deal face to face rather than by phone or accepting the media portrayals, Howe called Minnesota “a ‘we’-oriented club, whereas the focus of the last few years has been on ‘I.’ ”

“All I’m looking for,” he said, “is a right to a private life. I think I can find it here.”

He said he felt fine physically and will be ready to pitch when activated. The Metrodome? “I haven’t given up a home run yet,” he said, “so I like it.”