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Steve Howe watched over Mariano Rivera in 1995. (Getty)

Yankees closer Mariano Rivera has been doing his job with so much professionalism and class these last 18 years that it's easy to forget he was once a young kid trying to find his way in the big leagues. As Chad Jennings of the Journal News wrote on Tuesday, the 43-year-old Rivera pays it forward by helping the team's youngsters through the early stages of their careers, specifically right-hander Ivan Nova.

But who helped Rivera when he was just a kid trying to make it in the show all those years ago? The answer is interesting:

“Steve Howe was good to me,” Rivera said. “Steve Howe was real good to me. Always was there, making sure I was doing the right things and motivating me always to do what is right and to go with everything that you have. I will never forget that, and that was ’95. Now we are 2013 and I’m trying to do it for the others.”

Howe, if you're too young to remember, was a very troubled left-handed reliever who won the 1980 Rookie of the Year award with the Dodgers thanks to 17 saves and a 2.66 ERA in 84 2/3 innings. He threw 3 2/3 scoreless innings to close out Game 6 of the 1981 World Series, giving the franchise its first world championship since 1965. Howe spent parts of five years in Los Angeles before drug and alcohol abuse derailed his career, problems that led to him being suspended seven times by MLB. He was actually banned by MLB once, but was able to get back into the game through an appeal.

Yankees owner George Steinbrenner always loved to give second chances (Darryl Strawberry, Doc Gooden, etc.), so he signed Howe in 1991 and gave him a shot in the bullpen. He was with the Yankees until being released in 1996 -- since he had to maintain full-time employment as part of his probation, Howe worked in the team's ticket office during the 1994-95 work stoppage -- when his career was effectively over at age 38.

Howe continued to have trouble with drugs and alcohol after his playing career ended, and he was killed in a single-car accident in April 2006. His truck rolled over on a California highway median, and the toxicology report showed he had methamphetamine in his system. I wrote more about Howe's career and story about a year ago, if you're interested.

Rivera is held in high-regard throughout baseball and it was interesting to see him credit Howe for helping him earlier in career. Howe had a lot of off-the-field issues that derailed a very promising career, but it's nice to hear that as a veteran player, he helped younger players understand the work it takes to be a major leaguer. I doubt even he knew he was mentoring a player who would one day become the greatest reliever of all time.

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