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Ken Caminiti
Oct. 11th, 2004 08:05 amWhile most people today will concentrate on the passing of Christopher Reeve, which is truly a loss, as I was driving home from Dallas last night, I heard of another death that really moved mw.
I've met Ken Caminiti before, years ago when I was working for the college newspaper and for one year I was allowed to go out and interview some of the Astros. That was 1987 and Cammy was just coming into the league. I don't think I actually spoke more than a couple of words to him, and no, I didn't have access to the locker room, so I didn't really notice him at the time. The Astros were just coming off their best year ever, nearly making it to the World Series. Cammy was coming in to eventually replace some of the veteran players, and would herald the entry of Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell, who are now the core of the Astros team.
I have Cammy's autograph on my press pass. I got all of the team's signatures that year, which includes Nolan Ryan and then coach Yogi Berra. Asking him for that autograph was about the closest I had ever been to him. Had he actually had the facial hair that he sported later in his career, I probably would have fallen in love.
Cammy played for the Astros through several rebuilding years, eventually getting traded to the San Diego Padres in a house-cleaning move that was very controversial. His best years were with the Padres, where there were stories about how much he would put his body on the line, diving for balls, playing hurt, and one story how he had gotten Montezuma's revenge at a game played in Monterey, Mexico, took an IV, and went out and hit two home runs.
That season, 1996, Cammy won the National League MVP with the Padres. In 2002 he admitted to using steroids to keep his body together, after being badly banged up. The next year he went to the World Series (after a sad beating of my beloved Astros). He was also one of the hottest men on the planet.
He came back to the Astros for a couple of years, and the next time I saw him, he was leaving a game , driving away from then Enron Field on his Harley in street clothes. It was 2000 and he had just been let go, and claims of a serious drinking problem had come to light. Although he continued to play for a couple of teams before hanging up the cleats, Cammy had been in a program for his abuse, and his wife left him, taking their three daughters with him.
When he left his last team, he got caught in Houston for cocaine possession, and landed in jail. There was talk about getting clean, but just last week he was in court again explaining that he had broken his parole, then there was last night's news about his dying of a heart attack at the age of 41.
Who knows if it was the steroids or the cocaine (probably both), but it was a sad end to what should have been a good life. He had a lot going for him. I remember several years ago, as he looked like he was taking the decline of his career very badly, I really thought I could help - and when I mean help, I mean giving him a hug, and when I say giving him a hug, I mean making out with him. He was friggin' hot, and was definitely and influence. I remember even Bear Magazine had mentioned how hot he was. he was definitely an archetype with his goatee and furry chest.
He would have told you he wasn't the smartest man around. He admitted to reporters that all his life was baseball, and he didn't know what he was going to do after his playing career was over. He had recently asked the Padres if he could come back and coach at the minor league level, but I'm sure the team had thoughts about the past, and having a coach that was still having problems with drug abuse. It was a crutch, but it also ruined his life, and now has killed him.
Hopefully he'll get some better swings in the afterlife.
UPDATE: On November 1st, 2004 the New York Medical examiner's office announced that a drug overdose killed former NL MVP Ken Caminiti, who admitted using steroids during his playing days and tested positive for cocaine in the days before he died.
I've met Ken Caminiti before, years ago when I was working for the college newspaper and for one year I was allowed to go out and interview some of the Astros. That was 1987 and Cammy was just coming into the league. I don't think I actually spoke more than a couple of words to him, and no, I didn't have access to the locker room, so I didn't really notice him at the time. The Astros were just coming off their best year ever, nearly making it to the World Series. Cammy was coming in to eventually replace some of the veteran players, and would herald the entry of Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell, who are now the core of the Astros team.
I have Cammy's autograph on my press pass. I got all of the team's signatures that year, which includes Nolan Ryan and then coach Yogi Berra. Asking him for that autograph was about the closest I had ever been to him. Had he actually had the facial hair that he sported later in his career, I probably would have fallen in love.
Cammy played for the Astros through several rebuilding years, eventually getting traded to the San Diego Padres in a house-cleaning move that was very controversial. His best years were with the Padres, where there were stories about how much he would put his body on the line, diving for balls, playing hurt, and one story how he had gotten Montezuma's revenge at a game played in Monterey, Mexico, took an IV, and went out and hit two home runs.
That season, 1996, Cammy won the National League MVP with the Padres. In 2002 he admitted to using steroids to keep his body together, after being badly banged up. The next year he went to the World Series (after a sad beating of my beloved Astros). He was also one of the hottest men on the planet.
He came back to the Astros for a couple of years, and the next time I saw him, he was leaving a game , driving away from then Enron Field on his Harley in street clothes. It was 2000 and he had just been let go, and claims of a serious drinking problem had come to light. Although he continued to play for a couple of teams before hanging up the cleats, Cammy had been in a program for his abuse, and his wife left him, taking their three daughters with him.
When he left his last team, he got caught in Houston for cocaine possession, and landed in jail. There was talk about getting clean, but just last week he was in court again explaining that he had broken his parole, then there was last night's news about his dying of a heart attack at the age of 41.
Who knows if it was the steroids or the cocaine (probably both), but it was a sad end to what should have been a good life. He had a lot going for him. I remember several years ago, as he looked like he was taking the decline of his career very badly, I really thought I could help - and when I mean help, I mean giving him a hug, and when I say giving him a hug, I mean making out with him. He was friggin' hot, and was definitely and influence. I remember even Bear Magazine had mentioned how hot he was. he was definitely an archetype with his goatee and furry chest.
He would have told you he wasn't the smartest man around. He admitted to reporters that all his life was baseball, and he didn't know what he was going to do after his playing career was over. He had recently asked the Padres if he could come back and coach at the minor league level, but I'm sure the team had thoughts about the past, and having a coach that was still having problems with drug abuse. It was a crutch, but it also ruined his life, and now has killed him.
Hopefully he'll get some better swings in the afterlife.
UPDATE: On November 1st, 2004 the New York Medical examiner's office announced that a drug overdose killed former NL MVP Ken Caminiti, who admitted using steroids during his playing days and tested positive for cocaine in the days before he died.
