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Today’s story is about a promising ballplayer who fell victim to the pitfalls of addiction.

Steve Howe was damn near unhittable at one point in his career.

He grew up in Pontiac, Michigan, and didn’t have the ideal childhood.

Howe said he would fight “at least four times a week”... and he “personally liked bottles. “

“You broke a bottle, you had about six knives.”

Howe went on to play at Michigan in college and set the university record for wins, while being a two-time All-American.

While pitching in the Alaskan Summer League, he met his future wife Cindy.

The two had been together for THREE WEEKS, before he popped the question.

When you know, you know, I guess.

After his junior year, Howe was drafted in the first round (16th pick) by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

He went straight to Double A, and played well enough to get an invite to spring training in 1980.

Of course, Howe wanted to make a good first impression, so he showed up three weeks early, much to the delight of skipper Tommy Lasorda.

He earned a roster spot, and went on to win the lefty bullpen job from Jerry Reuss.

From the beginning, he was completely dominant.

In the third game of the season, Howe came in to relieve Bob Welch in the bottom of the 12th, and pitched five scoreless innings to get his team the win.

After ending the game by striking out Willie Stargell on three pitches with the bases loaded, Howe gave a short interview that shows the bravado he had back in those days.

He was asked: “Do you know who that was?”

Howe: “A guy who can’t handle a fastball up and in.”

He set a new rookie record with 17 saves that season, and was named the NL Rookie of the Year.

He also had another impressive season in ‘82, posting an ERA of 2.08.

That was his first-and-only All-Star Game appearance.

Unfortunately, his relationship with alcohol and cocaine caught up wit him quickly.

Howe first checked himself into a substance abuse treatment center in the offseason.

In ‘83, he started off sober and was on fire - he hadn’t allowed a run in 22 innings - but on May 28th, he didn’t show up for a game against the Giants.

Later in the season, the MLB fined him $54k for his coke use; 17% of his total salary that year.

He also agreed to a three-year probation and regular testing.

In mid-September of 1983, he posted a 2.14 ERA in 46 innings, but later that month, he missed a team flight along with another drug test.

He was immediately sent back to rehab, and fined another $54k.

This time, they suspended Howe.

When he came back, he was not the same - in July of ‘85 he was released by the Dodgers.

The next decade would be a cycle of getting signed by teams, missing a practice/workout/drug test, and then getting cut.

In total, he was suspended from the league seven times.

When he was sober, he was absolutely magnificent.

But ultimately his addiction stripped him of everything.

In 2006, Howe died in a car accident, and blood reports showed he had fentanyl in his system.

RIDICULOUS STATS

BASEBALL TRIVIA

STRANGE NAMES

If you're just joining us, we play this game every day where we try to find the weirdest names throughout baseball history.

Why? Don't ask us, it's just something we like to do.

If you've been rocking with us for awhile now, you know what time it is.

Today's winner is:

Birdie was a small guy in terms of stature, but he had a big heart.

In 1911, he finished 6th in the MVP voting.

Here’s the other five guys who finished ahead of him:

1. Ty Cobb

2. Ed Walsh

3. Eddie Collins

4. Shoeless Joe Jackson

5. Walter Johnson

Couple of pretty decent ballplayers on that list.

THE DEAD LEGENDS ARCHIVE

If you like this story, check out some of our past favorites:

• The Boy’s Hero: Jim Rice saves a life

• The Pilot: Ken Hubbs overcomes the odds

• The Fall: Ed Delahanty’s mysterious death

• The Sodfather: Baseball’s greatest groundskeepers

• The Kissing Bandit: How a stripper became a baseball icon