Coach Howe (with Ron Washington) while with
the Texas Rangers in 2007-08. He also coached the
Rangers from 1986-88.
Howe was manager of the Oakland Athletics from 1996-2002.
know that he planned to retire, hoping to get
an opportunity to coach.
He ended up being released from his
contract early and was quickly hired by
Bobby Valentine of the Texas Rangers as a
third base coach, where he stayed until 1988.
In 1989, he rejoined the Astros, this time as
manager. He had a winning first season with
the team; however, the next two seasons were
not so kind, as the team was being rebuilt
with younger players. The Astros rebounded
in 1992 and 1993, but Howe was let go at
the end of the 1993 season. He spent the
1994-1995 winter season managing a team in
the Dominican League, leading it to its first
championship.
After spending a year as a scout for the
Los Angeles Dodgers and serving as a bench
26 724.942.0940 TO ADVERTISE | Shaler
coach for the Colorado Rockies, he replaced
Tony LaRussa as manager of the Oakland
Athletics. His career and relationship with
Athletics general manager Billy Beane was
famously documented in the 2011 movie
“Moneyball,” with the late actor Philip
Seymour Hoffman portraying Howe.
Despite his winning record, Howe was
released from his Oakland contract after
seven years. He was then selected as manager
of the New York Mets for the 2003-2004
season. Unfortunately, the team suffered
multiple losing seasons, and Howe was let go.
In 2006, he was hired as the third base
coach for the Philadelphia Phillies but left
shortly after to work as a bench coach for the
Texas Rangers and manager Ron Washington,
who had worked as a coach for Howe in
Oakland. Howe stayed with the Rangers for
the next two years, ending his career with the
team in 2008.
Since then, he has been working with Root
Sports as an analyst for the Astros, “much like
Kent Tekulve,” he says. (Tekulve, a former
Pirates pitcher, currently works for Root
Sports and appears as an analyst after Pirates
games.)
Howe’s contributions to the game
have not gone unrecognized. He’s the
second‑winningest manager in Oakland A’s
history and, in both 1999 and 2000, was the
runner‑up for the American League Manager
of the Year award. In 2001, he was inducted
into the Shaler High School Hall of Fame.
“Being inducted into the Hall of Fame was
one of the biggest honors I’ve ever received,”
he says. “It was a thrill. It was very special.”
Howe visits Pittsburgh often, as he and his
wife still have family in the area.
“We always enjoy returning to Pittsburgh
to see old family and friends. We look forward
to reconnecting with our roots,” he says.
As for young players who want to follow
in Howe’s footsteps and make it to the big
leagues, he says the most important thing is
passion.
“Above all, you have to love the game. You
have to play it simply for the love of the game.
When the Pirates signed me, I would have
played for free I loved the game so much. You
just have to enjoy it,” he says. n