ugs, including heroin, cocaine, and amphetamines. They labeled baseball, along with football, as the league which they believed had the most widespread problem. 57 percent of those surveyed also admitted they were "very concerned" about drug use by athletes.2
But despite the national attention the subject was given in the press, drug use continued on with relatively little circumstance for the offenders. Tigers pitcher Denny McClain and former Cy Young winner LaMarr Hoyt were convicted of drug charges in 1985. Hoyt was sentenced to prison as a result of his conviction. Howe and Mets players Darryl Strawberry and pitcher Dwight Gooden were all suspended a few years later for drug-related offenses, yet all three returned to baseball.
The worst drug offender by far was Howe. Voted Rookie of the Year as a relief pitcher with the Dodgers in 1980, his career took a turn for the worst due to cocaine.
After a series of unexplained absences, team fines, and suspensions in the early 1
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