Online Encyclopedia
Ken Caminiti
Kenneth Gene Caminiti (April 21, 1963 - October 10, 2004) was a former MLB baseball player. He was born in Hanford, California, and attended San Jose State University.
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Baseball career
He played professionally for 15 seasons (1987-2001), making his debut on July 16, 1987 with the Houston Astros. He played on four teams, first the Astros and San Diego Padres, and then splitting 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 his old team to be a spring training instructor for the Padres.
Awards
He won 3 Gold Glove Awards while playing for the Padres in 1995, 1996, and 1997, and 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 was using steroids during his MVP-winning 1996 season, and for several seasons afterwards. 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 .