Kenneth Gene Caminiti (April 21, 1963 - October 10, 2004) was an MLB baseball player. He was born in Hanford, California, and attended San Jose State University.

Baseball career

Caminiti played professionally for 15 seasons (1987-2001), making his debut on July 16, 1987 with the Houston Astros. He played for the Astros and San Diego Padres, and then split his last year between the Texas Rangers and the Atlanta Braves. His main position was third base.

He was slowed by injuries in 1999 and 2000, and after struggling the first half of 2001, he was released by the Texas Rangers and wound up his career with the Atlanta Braves, who moved him across the infield in an effort to fulfill their desire for a power-hitting first baseman.

Following his career in baseball, Caminiti was hired by the Padres to be a spring training instructor for his former team.

Awards

Caminiti won 3 Gold Glove Awards while playing for the Padres in 1995, 1996, and 1997, and he was unanimously selected as the National League's MVP in 1996. In 1994, 1996, and 1997 he appeared in the MLB All Star Games.

Personal Struggles

Caminiti struggled with substance abuse throughout his career. He admitted in 1994 to having a problem with alcohol and checked himself into a rehab center in 2000. In a Sports Illustrated cover story in 2002, a year after his retirement, he admitted that he had used steroids during his MVP-winning 1996 season, and for several seasons afterwards. [1] Caminiti also had a long struggle with cocaine, having been arrested in March 2001 for possession and sentenced to probation. Just prior to his death, on October 5, 2004, he admitted in a Houston court that he had violated his probation by testing positive for cocaine in September of 2004. It was his fourth such violation and he was sentenced to 180 days in prison but given credit for time already served and released.

Caminiti died unexpectedly of an apparent heart attack in The Bronx at the age of 41; he was pronounced dead on October 10, 2004 at New York's Lincoln Memorial Hospital . Preliminary news reports on October 15, 2004, indicated he died of a drug overdose. Rob Silva, an acquaintance of Caminiti who spent part of the day with him on October 10, told Newsday that Caminiti was edgy and depressed on the day he died, but also said he did not witness Caminiti using drugs on that day. On November 1, the New York City Medical Examiners Office announced that Caminiti died from "acute intoxication due to the combined effects of cocaine and opiates" but coronary artery disease and cardiac hypertrophy (an enlarged heart) were also contributing factors.

External links

• Career Statistics
• Houston Chronicle Photo Gallery after Ken's Death