Q&A: Howe reflects on his 7 trips to the postseason

Art Howe came out of the University of Wyoming figuring his dreams of becoming a professional athlete weren’t going to come true. He returned home to Pittsburgh, went to work and played baseball in weekend leagues for the fun of it.

Then, at the age of 24, a Pirates scout saw enough of Howe to offer him a contract, and his dream came true.

Howe spent the next 33 years as a player, scout, coach and manager, and was able to take part in the postseason seven times — as a player with the Pirates (1974) and Astros (’80, ’81), a coach with the Rockies (’95) and as a manager with the A’s (2000, ’01 and ’02).

Howe reminisces about those opportunities in this week’s Q&A:

MLB.com: Is the last week of September different than the rest of the year?

Howe: If you’re fighting for the postseason, it’s like you’re in the postseason. Every game’s vital — and don’t let any manager fool you or kid that he’s managing every game to win no matter what and everybody’s on call. You manage differently because you might have a starter out there throwing a shutout and, all of a sudden in the fifth inning, it’s 0-0 and he gets a couple guys on, you’re going to the bullpen. Whereas in the regular season, you’re going to let him pitch through that jam or give up a couple runs, whatever. You can’t afford to give up anything when you’re fighting, when you’re trying to get to the postseason. It’s exciting times. I’m enjoying watching this year, especially the American League Wild Card chase. … Going into the weekend, there were six teams in contention for those two spots.

MLB.com: You were a late callup by the Pirates as a rookie in 1974, but got to experience your first postseason [that year].

Howe: We got to play the Dodgers in the postseason. I actually got an at-bat, grounded out to short, but got my feet wet in the postseason. It’s so exciting to be one of the few teams playing in October, you’ve had a heck of a season and you got an opportunity to fulfill a dream — and that’s to win a World Series. I never fulfilled that dream, but I was in the postseason seven different times — three as a player, one as a coach and three as a manager. There’s nothing like it. It’s like you’re walking on air.

MLB.com: In the 1980 playoffs with the Astros, four of the five games with the Phillies in the National League Championship Series went extra innings. Lingering memories?

Howe: Vern Ruhle was pitching in Game 4. The Phillies had a couple of guys on in the fourth, and then came the only ruling on the field that the Commissioner made from the stands. Gary Maddox hit a jam job back toward Vern on the mound. To this day, no one knows whether he caught the ball in the …

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