He played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins, Texas Rangers and New York Yankees, spanning 1980 to 1996.

A hard-throwing left-hander, Howe was the Rookie of the Year in 1980, saved the clinching game of the 1981 World Series, and was an All-Star in 1982.

He failed to repeat the performance the following year and was relegated to a setup role, and was released in June 1996 after posting an 0–1 record with a 6.35 ERA.

The book, Between the Lines: One Athlete's Struggle to Escape the Nightmare of Addiction (ISBN 9780940279254), described his chemical dependency and hope for recovery based upon his newfound commitment to evangelical Christianity.

Following his retirement from baseball, Howe worked in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, as a self-employed framing contractor.