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Art Howe
Arthur Henry Howe
Born: December 15, 1946 at Pittsburgh, Pa.
Throws: Right Bats: Right
Height: 6.01 Weight: 185

Art Howe was the most popular Ultimate Mets Database daily lookup on June 4, 2012, and June 2, 2014.

Share your memories of Art Howe HERE IS WHAT OTHER METS FANS HAVE TO SAY: BigMetsFan December 26, 2002 Art Howe will prove to be the correct hire for the Mets, even if Piniella was the first choice. All he did in Oakland was win. He'll be the Mets' skipper long after Piniella has realized that Tampa Bay is a joke franchise and he was a fool to take that lousy job. Larry Burns January 7, 2003 I do not have any memories of Art, but the reaction of players to him seems sincere and positive. The fact that so many free agents will consider the Mets now that Bobby V is out is a good sign for him. I am hoping that he falls in the role of a mature, calm presence. I was all for Lou Pinella but I am starting to warm up to Art. He certainly sounds like a good guy, and you cannot fault his achievements in Oakland. Bob R. January 9, 2003 Take it from somebody who lives in the Bay Area and watched Art Howe manage the A's - this guy will be a terrific manager for the Mets. Mr. Sparkle January 10, 2003 I heard that 2 years ago he benched Miguel Tejada in one game because he didn't run hard to first on a routine ground ball. I think that's awesome! I hate it when guys loaf to first and it's great to see Art expecting guys to play hard 100% of the time. It reminds me of the time Hodges walked out to left field to take Cleon Jones out of a game for not running hard. Art will have to do a lot to be mentioned in the same breath as the great Gil Hodges but I believe he will make a very possitive impact on the Mets. Jonathan Stern February 13, 2003 I wish Art well. He is being forced to manage the 1962 Mets! Too many players 33 or older, most recovering from injuires or off-years (or, in the case of Burnitz and Alomar, non-years), several grossly out of shape. Have you seen Cliff Floyd lately? The Mets list him at 6'4'' and 260 lbs. Did he train with Mo during the off- season? Who's on third - I don't know? A pitching staff with a 37-year-old ace who had a dismal second half of 2002 (and should have signed with the Phillies if he really wanted to win) and a bullpen relying on a 42-year-old coming off Tommy John surgery? If we have enough pitching, why are the Mets bringing back Cone? Why not bring Gus Bell back instead of Jay Bell? It's safe to say that we will not lose 120 games this year. But 100 is a strong possibility while 90, in my opinion, is almost a certainty. Good luck, Art. If you lose as badly as you probably will, I, at any rate, will remember that this is Steve's team, not yours. If, on the other hand, you finish above .500 with a team that can't field, can't run, doesn't have pitching, and might hit a little, and has too many overpaid players (not to mention chemistry problems), you would qualify as one of the best Met managers ever. I would only hope, however, that a winning season does not inadvertantly save Steve's job. Play ball. Jonah Falcon March 14, 2003 Art Howe has the same temperment as Joe Torre. It'll be interesting to see if he handles the press as well as Torre, though - the Oakland press has nothing on the New York press. Steven Gallanter March 28, 2003 I remember watching a NBC GAME OF THE WEEK in the '70's and hearing Joe Garigiola telling the saga of how Art Howe was playing in a recreational league when he went to a Pirates open tryout camp. When he was young he looked like a shorter version of Kent Tekulve..spindly skinny with a bulging Adam's apple. For whatever it's worth he was basically invited not to stay by the Athletics for juggling the rotation to get Barry Zito another win. Tim Hudson wound up getting shelled in the playoffs and Howe's fate was sealed. Anthony Reccoppa April 6, 2003 While everyone in NY was screaming LOU! LOU! LOU!, this guy (Art) was taking his green elephants to the post season, and losing most of his big stars in the meantime. I liked Bobby a lot, but he wacked us in the 2000 classic by not letting Franco try to finish the Yanks in Game One, and for the last 2 years he lived in a cloud not admitting the team was going nowhere fast. I feel Art will do fine. His style is different, and change was needed. Anyway, Lou will be seen driving his car into the gulf by June 1st after the Rays get done with him. Shari April 23, 2003 Art-I heard you had the nerve to criticize the fans for getting on Benitez's case. How you don't have an ulcer from his "Agita Saves" this year I'll never know, but we fans are SICK of watching this guy mess it up for us since he came to Shea. We pay good money to come out to Shea and see a game, and to watch this bum blow it for us because you & Steve Phillips don't have the balls to put in someone else and send his ass to minors is getting on our nerves. Do you realize your team could be over .500 if it werent' for Benitez? So I'd keep quiet about us fans and start critizing your 8 million dollar cry baby. Joe Figliola May 21, 2003 I don't care for the way Art and his coaches have handled the starting pitching this season. On 20 May, Jae Seo was pitching a beautiful ballgame for the Amazin's. In the sixth, he gives up a home run to Burrell, then a double to Abreu before getting the side in order. Great rebound by the rookie! So he comes out to the mound in the seventh and a player (Nick Punto) who is 1-for-17 in the young season is coming up. The way Jae is pitching, he eats Punto up, right? No! Art and company have got to get the relievers in there, so he takes Seo out, puts in Weathers and the rest, unfortunately, is history. The Mets get bombed. I have to agree with Tom Seaver. Starting pitchers should bop until they drop. Regardless of pitch count, Seo had the Phillies looking like fillies. Howe let Mr. Loser Trachsel pitch into the eighth and they win; Glavine pitches a gem into the ninth and they win. Why not Seo? Because he's a rookie? And don't give me this nonsense that the relievers were well rested. If Seo was in command of the game, let him go until he gets into a situation where it is necessary to bring the middle reliever in. I think the Mets and Jae would have won that game easily. This is not the first time Howe and company pulled this garbage and lost the game. Remember when Glavine had the Marlins helpless for six innings and 89 pitches when he was removed? What happened? The Mets bullpen lost that one, too. I'm really tired of all this losing. Art Howe and staff should throw out the manual on how to play baseball in 2003 and go with guts in the tradition of Gil Hodges. Shari May 27, 2003 I have to agree with you Joe, not only am I sick of his pulling starters that are doing fine late in the game, but I starting to think the only reason he had any success in Oakland was because he had young aggressive players, someone passive like him will never have any influenece over veterans that are phoning in their performances. We needed an ass-kicker like Pinella here. He wouldn't put up with any garbage from Alomar & co. Back to the way he manages the pitchers -- he keeps over-using the same guys over and over. Why not put Graeme Lloyd in once in a while? The man has an ERA under 3 and he keeps over-using Stanton and Weathers. (Not that I believe anyone that pitches an inning or two is over-used but this seems to be the case.) Since both of them have been lousy almost every appearance, don't you realize you need to put someone other than those two guys in the game? And don't you realize that when Cerda is getting pounded you should take him out? Bob Mercier July 24, 2003 I feel that Art howe is a bad Mets manager. The Mets have no life under him and they have quit as well. He is not the right manager for the Mets. I knew when the Mets hired him in late 2002 it was the wrong choice. The Mets should have hired Lou Piniella or some no nonsense manager, because that is what these Mets need, and that is the problem with Art Howe, he is too nice and laid back. I say the Mets should fire Art Howe Now! Or else fire him after the 2003 season ends! Just fire Art Howe Before it gets too late! I can tell already the Mets are going to keep losing and losing as long as Art Howe is the manager. I know that Art Howe is not doing anything to motative these players when they are losing and losing and that is not good. Lou Piniella, Ray Knight, Larry Bowa, some no nonsense managers wouldn't be putting up with this crappy play of the 2003 Mets. Shari July 25, 2003 I agree with you Bob, the team reflects the personality of the coach. Howe has a ho-hum attitude and no spark to his personality and so does his team. He should be a bench coach if anything. I have no clue how he was successful in Oakland. He has no clue how to manage these players. Say what you will about Bobby V-but even though he had suck-ass whiny, lazy over the hill veterans who couldn't stand him towards the end to work with last year he still inspired them enough to make a small run at the Wild Card in August. The only thing I see this team making a run at is a brick wall with this guy. He couldn't inspire a spark out of Brucci's fireworks. Keith Niles July 27, 2003 Calm down people. Art has had to deal with injuries day in and day out. He didn't plan on having a young team on the field this year. It's not his fault Roger Cedeno still plays the outfield in Keystone Kop fashion and that Mo can't hit or pick up a ground ball. He deserves more time because let's face it, the next important game for the Mets will be opening day 2004. Jonathan Stern September 28, 2003 I called it. See my above entry on Art Howe. Not that I'm patting myself on the back. Although, heck, maybe I should be doing that. Finally! The 2003 season is over. $120 million on a 66- 95 team! Get out the spray cans. Any spray cans... except Cedeno's, of course. Art's mealy-mouthed press conferences, inability to handle Piazza, and plain jello personality aside, I feel that it is impossible to judge his performance. In nearly every instance, his hands were probably tied. Howe was brought in because he (unlike Sweet Lou) is a proven winner who also knows how to lose. As usual, The Mets entered the season knowing they could finish anywhere from first to last (certainly, Tom Glavine knew that; that's why he signed with the Mets instead of the Phillies). Howe proved, if nothing else, that he could lose with a certain amount of dignity. Does that qualify as a moral victory? Bob February 25, 2004 2004 will be the year that everyone takes back their negative statements about Art Howe. Jonathan Stern March 17, 2004 Well, hear we are again. I'm not sure why WFAN personalities are claiming that the Mets will be better this year. Last year (see above), I predicted that the Mets were not going to lose 120 games. 120 losses isn't likely in 2004, either - but it is NOT out of the question. Good luck, Art. I know that you not turn down the Mets' money. I am also sure that you knew full well that you are being paid to lose. There were no guarantees that you were going to manage again (there are no guarantees for almost anyone), so you took the money. I don't hold it against you. jfk April 22, 2004 Art Howe makes Jeff Torberg look like a genius. He has no clue how to run a pitching staff. All he does is manage every game with the same script. He has it in his mind that a starting pitcher cannot throw more than 100 pitches. He is love with his bullpen, especially Weathers and Stanton. Every time he goes to the bullpen, I know the odds are great the Mets will lose, and he does it no matter the situation. I am waiting for him to pull a starter when the guy has a no-hitter going, because he has throen 100 pitches. Did Billy Beane pull a good one on the Mets? Shari April 24, 2004 He couldn't fire up this team if he dowsed himself in kerosene and swallowed a blow torch. He lets questionable calls by umpires go uncontested, his pulling of the starters when they are doing fine makes me nuts-ESPECIALLY after he's seen that our middle relief is horrendous. Say what you want about Bobby V but he inspired some Mets teams with less talent to compete closely for the wildcard from 1997-1999, and managed to get the 2000 team to the series with smoke & mirrors. I'd be happy if Howe just looked interested in the game when the TV cameras are on him. Jonathan Stern April 30, 2004 Ya gotta save those arms. Especially with all of the steroid-swallowing giants coming to the plate. Does anyone throw complete games anymore? Also, our two aces are both 38 years old, for what it's worth. The Mets are painful to watch again. As with last year, good starting pitching, bad relief pitching, mental mistakes at the plate and in the field, etc. But the hitting? YIKES! Though he's not blameless, Art cannot hit, pitch, or field for these guys. And given the injuries, which appear to be having a domino effect, and given the Mets' continuing proclivity for bringing in damaged goods (Floyd, Cameron, etc.), not to mention Piazza's transition to 1B and guys like Jason Phillips feeling insulted when benched... well, what's a manager to do? Todd Zeille is our best everyday player, for crying out loud! By the way, has anyone noticed how much Art Howe looks like Art Carney? I keep expecting him to do a "HEY-HEY- HEY, RALPHIE BOY!!!" or a "HELLOOO, BALL!" every time I see him. Piazza's playing 1B today? VA-VA-VA-VOOM! Joe Figliola April 30, 2004 If the Mets flop again this season, then Met fans should pinpoint the beginning of the end to the Friday night game against Pittsburgh, where Glavine was pitching lights out until Artie took him out and all hell broke loose. In my opinion, I think Glavine covered up for Art's mistake by saying he had a shoulder problem. That shoulder held up pretty good against the Dodgers; even though Glavine gave up 10 hits, he did a great job holding down the mighty Dodgers offense to three runs. I don't want to sound like a broken record, but Art Howe seems to have a problem when dealing with the pacing of pitchers. I also think the Mets need a young, agressive, enthusiastic lion to deal with this team. jfk August 3, 2004 There has never been a more accurate statement than what I wrote on April 22, 2004. Sports Weekly reported a couple of months ago he would be fired by the end of the season. Why wait? Lets try to salvage this season. It is getting increasingly frustrating to watch him manage the team to a loss on a consistent basis. Anthony August 8, 2004 Seems like a nice guy. Met him at spring training in 2004. But I think he is an awful manager for the Mets. I just watched the Mets lose 2-1 to the Cardinals today, 8/7. There was one out and nobody on in the ninth. Ricky Bottalico was doing just fine. But, of course, out comes Howe to bring in Mike Stanton. WHY? WHY? WHY? Of course, Stanton loads the bases on walks (one intentional)and the Cardinals win on a bloop single. Please fire Art Howe after this season. Jonathan Stern September 8, 2004 Art Howe walked into a hornets' nest in 2003. At present, he is being stung badly. Even before the annual injury parade left Howe forced to bat Gerald Williams third and run the middle infield by committee, the 2004 Mets were clearly pretenders. To make matters worse, the team appears to have quit on him as the 2002 bunch did Bobby Valentine. Ironic, since Howe was brought in, with the approval of seemingly all of the veterans, to be the type of manager his predecessor was not. Still, one can only go so far in defending Howe. For all kinds of reasons - some known to the public, some kept within the clubhouse - Howe has clearly lost control of the team. Forget asking whether he will be back. At this point, he may not even be able to come back. He simply cannot manage this team anymore. Maybe no one can. Kiwiwriter September 15, 2004 I think they hired him for the same reason they hired Kenesaw Mountain Landis as commissioner -- he had that granite jaw that made him look like a leader. He had no chance...he was far too laid-back, and just let the team get out of control for two years. Now here we are, heading for another disastrous finish, and the listless veterans have basically quit on him. To be sure, he was stuck with the management decisions and the injuries, but he didn't communicate, didn't argue, didn't even lead. D-minus. Try again. rich edwards September 15, 2004 Since it has been announced that Howe will be let go at the end of the season, or immediately if he so desires, I wonder who is the right manager for the Mets at this time. If you look back at the comments about Howe before his first game as manager (on this website) almost everyone admired the job he did at Oakland, his laid back but firm style and everyone was glad that Valentine was gone. One person even compared his style to Torre's, which is fairly accurate. I think if Torre and Howe switched teams right now, Art would be in first place and Torre would be referred to as Clueless Joe regularly. The current Met players are tremendous underachievers, with a few exceptions. I don't know who could have won this year for them. Good luck Art, thanks for the effort. Kiwiwriter September 17, 2004 "We battled, we battled, we battled." John Paul Jones, he isn't. Well, they stuck the fork in him last night. Now he'll earn $4.7 million for his ability to play golf with his family -- which I think is all he was doing before he was fired. When I was fired, I was out the door in a matter of minutes. I didn't hang around to sit in the public glare of humiliation. He has to manage the next 15 days of uncaring players and inept ball. Surely he's suffered enough humiliation. LenDog September 17, 2004 You can't make chicken salad out of chicken *&%^. John McGraw, Coach K, Knute Rockne, Jesus H. Christ and Bear Bryant couldn't pull 70 wins out of this cancerous mob known as the 2004 Mets. No use blaming Art Howe. His only failure was not doing his homework on the Wilpons before signing. Maybe he did but decided the money was good enough to put up with the filthy clubhouse politics of Franco, Glavine, Leiter, et. al. We Met fans are in for complete misery until this team is sold by the Wilpons. Art Howe will be a mere footnote to this ongoing tragedy. Jonathan Stern September 24, 2004 9/15 of this year may well have been my worst day ever as a Mets fan. I was, and still am, angry, and I am probably not alone. Hearing Fred Wilpon insist that little-to-nothing was wrong with the organization, going so far as to praise Kaz Matsui at shortstop, was bad enough. But hearing Art Howe break down at the end of his radio show with Mike and the Mad Dog was too much. The plan was to have Howe manage till season's end, then fire him - standard procedure. But someone spilled the beans to a Daily News reporter, rendering Howe as lame a lame duck as has ever been seen in this or any other town, even with Jim Fassel's tenure a recent memory. Howe, out of a sense of duty, decided to finish the season anyway. What a man. If he had told the franchise and all of its fatcat, multi-million-dollar coach-killers to shove it, the whole baseball world have understood and applauded him. And to think, he was originally embraced by these underachieving jerks as a "player's manager." I would like to know who was the "unidentified source" that stabbed Howe in the back. In all probability, we will never find out. The man in question likely does not have the you-know-what's to own up. Whoever it was, he, and the whole rest of the organization combined, do not own a fraction of the class their departing manager possesses. Art Howe might have been wrong for New York. He made not even be a great manager, although it's hard to judge him based on the last two seasons. But he will always be a winner in my book. The Mets? In a word... LOSERS. Kingofqueens718 April 17, 2005 Totally sucked as Mets skipper for 2 years. I thought when he came to the Mets he would bring some of that A's magic with him, but unfortunately Zito, Mulder and Hudson didn't make the trip with him. I met him at LaGuardia airport a few days after he had taken the job with the Mets and he couldn't have been nicer. It was the funniest thing...I was reading the Daily News about Howe and the Wilpons trying to sign Tom Glavine and no sooner than I sit my newspaper down Art Howe and his wife come and sit about 3 seats away from me. Seems that we both were on the same flight to Houston that day. original mets May 9, 2005 My ever lasting memory of Art Howe was last September in a game against Florida. Jae Seo failed to back up home plate after a hit, and the TV cameras showed Uncle Art motioning with his hand that the ball took off, as he shook his head. At that juncture I think he knew he was about to be told his services were no longer needed. And this was the man "who could light up a room", according to Mr. Wilpon. That's it: he was an electrician, not a manager. Lifelong Fan July 9, 2005 It became clear that he didn't care what he was doing when he knew he was going to be canned. I used to say to myself, "Is this guy watchin' the same game as me?!?" Juan September 24, 2005 I can't understand how this guy held his job as long as he did! HOWE could he have used the bullpen the way he did? Stanton was the worst reliever he had and not only did Howe use him EVERY SINGLE DAY, he would leave him in after giving up 2-3 runs in ONE inning! Everyone talks about Willie's use of the bullpen but he is nothing compared to Howe. In fact, I think Willie is doing well! Bob Inzerillo December 28, 2005 I remember thinking, "are they kidding or what?", when I read that they were considering Howe as the front-runner to replace Bobby Valentine. Heck, I still couldn't believe they fired Valentine! I thought the Mets learned with Jeff Torborg, to beware when a team comes around offering up their manager. There were proven quality managers available. They could have had Buck Showalter. They could have hired current manager Willie Randolph then, or given Lee Mazzilli a shot. Anything would have been better than this guy. Steve Phillips wanted Valentine out so bad, he spited the Mets in doing so. Then he brings in Howe to show Wilpon what a "real" manager should be like. Wipon comes away and says, "the search stops here, Art Howe lit up the room. We gotta have Art Howe!" Did Art Howe bring a blow torch with him? The guy makes Ben Stein sound like a motivational speaker. Then for 2 years, as the team loses more and more, this 7-and-a-half watt bulb keeps telling us, "Well, the guys are trying hard." Art, your team is in a free fall, they've lost 15 of 17 games, what are you going to do to the lineup, any changes? "No, the guys are really trying hard, we just haven't gotten the breaks, but these guys are trying and I think we can turn it around." How could the A's let this spark plug go? Damion October 2, 2007 How can a manager have any heart when he doesn't even have a pulse? agee_of_aquarius October 20, 2007 He was a good manager unless you're hung on things like won-loss record, strategy, and motivating players. DopeyMetfan August 28, 2008 Dull as a doornail and dry as toast. He looked stupid at times and as if he was going to throw up at the thought of having ever signed with the Mets. DailySkew December 11, 2008 I met Art at Spring Training one year. He acted just like how we used to see him on TV- a not-too-friendly player's manager, who tries his best not to lose his mind and temper with a prying media. He really was the wrong fit the the Mets. He's coach-material.

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