It’s funny that the only times I’ve ever thought about Steve Howe were when I was defending him in relation to Pete Rose. Defenders of Rose like to argue that if a player like Howe wasn’t kicked out of baseball, a player like Rose shouldn’t be, either.

Steve Howe. Poster boy for drug addiction and second chances. He has died in a car accident at age 48. That’s too young to die. The life of Steve Howe seems like a melange of wasted opportunity and bad decisions, summed up like this:

Steve Howe, the relief pitcher whose promising career was derailed by cocaine and alcohol abuse, died Friday when his pickup truck rolled over in Coachella, Calif. He was 48.

I don’t want an obituary like this. My god, I don’t want one like this.