This Pitch Had Better Be It for Steve Howe

The Times’ headline read “ Howe Undergoes Drug Cure .” The date was Jan. 15, 1983.

The cure didn’t take.

There have been numerous headlines since involving former Dodger relief pitcher Steve Howe. On May 30, 1983--” Howe Has Relapse of Drug Problem .” On June 3, 1983--” Update on Howe: Outlook Is Upbeat. “ On July 16, 1983--” Howe Reports Late for Game and Is Held Out. “ On July 18, 1983--” Dodgers Say Howe Is Clean, Lift Ban .” On Sept. 25, 1983--” Lawyer Says Howe Needs to Get Away. “ On Dec. 16, 1983--” Kuhn Suspends Howe for Entire ’84 Season .” On March 3, 1985--” Steve Howe’s Return. “ On June 24, 1985--” Howe Is Late for the Game. “ On July 1, 1985--” Howe Is a No-Show; Dodgers in the Dark. “ On July 2, 1985--” Howe Says He Needs Another Break .” On July 3, 1985--” Howe May Have Finally Worn Out His Welcome. “ On July 4, 1985--” Howe Is Released by Dodgers, Cites Pressures of L.A. “ On Aug. 12, 1985--” Steve Howe Signs With the Twins, Says They’ll Respect His Privacy. “ On Sept. 15, 1985--” Twins Concerned as Steve Howe Is Missing From Team. “ On Sept. 18, 1985--” Howe Is Released by the Twins After Cocaine-Related Absence. “ On March 23, 1986 after the pitcher had signed with the San Jose Bees of the Class-A California League--” Steve Howe Gets Another Chance. “ On May 15, 1986--” Howe Fails Drug Test in Minors. “ On July 15, 1986--” Howe Tests Positive for Cocaine.’ ‘

If it seems as though Howe’s battles have been with us as long as Rocky Balboa’s, there’s a good reason.

There was another Howe-related headline in The Times the other day. It read “ I Screwed Up. “

Steve Howe is a born-again--and again and again--non-user these days. Suspended from his last team, the Bees, he is speaking on the evils of drug abuse and talking about the possibility of continuing his baseball career in Japan.

He showed up at Cal State Northridge the other day to relate his battle with drugs to students. He said all the right things at this Howe-not-to clinic.

“It was not me using cocaine and missing ballgames,” he told his audience in describing his $1,000-a-week habit. “It was not Steve Howe. It was cocaine. Drugs are not the problem. People who use drugs are the problem.”

Sounds contradictory? There was more.

“Addicts look for excuses to use,” he said. “It’s a lot easier to point fingers than to blame yourself.”

That said, Howe turned right around and started pointing fingers--at everyone.

“You’ve got a problem, you go tell a coach and the next day, it’s in the paper,” he said. “It got to the point where I was afraid to sneeze sideways because the media would pick it up and analyze it. The media in L.A. is ruthless, brutal. They put the highlights of the game on the back page and the smut on the front page because that’s what sells papers.”

Howe got plenty of applause from the 150 or so CSUN students in attendance. Nobody will oppose another voice in the fight against drugs.

Here’s someone who had it all at one time--a brilliant career as one of baseball’s best relievers, a beautiful family and a fabulous income.

If Howe is cured, if he remains so, he could certainly serve as a poignant reminder of the tragedy drug abuse.

But that if hangs like a question mark over his head. This is a man who has used up all benefits of the doubt. He could wallpaper his den with the headlines that prove that point.

If he is not truly cured, if those students in that room should read another headline somewhere, sometime that announces another Howe relapse, then not only has his integrity been lost, but perhaps, so has the message.

We really hope you mean it this time, Steve. There’s a lot riding on it. Not just your career and your life, but maybe the lives of some young people who are now looking up to you. They believe in you. And if they were to hear you were back on the stuff, they just might believe drugs aren’t so bad after all.

You’ve run out of options, Steve. The bases loaded and the count is 3-2. The pitch you’re making now from a speaker’s platform has got to be on target.