Ken Caminiti, 1996 NL MVP, Dies at Age 41
sneakysneak
By BEN WALKER AP Baseball Writer
The Associated Press - Monday, October 11, 2004
NEW YORK
Ken Caminiti, the 1996 National League MVP who later admitted using
steroids during his major league career, died Sunday. He was 41.
Caminiti died of a heart attack in the Bronx, said his agent-lawyer
Rick Licht. The city medical examiner's office said an autopsy would
be performed Monday, spokeswoman Ellen Borakove said.
"I'm still in shock," San Diego Padres general manager Kevin Towers
said. "He was one of my favorite all-time players."
The three-time All-Star third baseman often was in trouble the last
few years. His 15-year big league career ended in 2001, five seasons
after he led the Padres to a division title and was a unanimous pick
for MVP.
Just last Tuesday, he admitted in a Houston court that he violated his
probation by testing positive for cocaine last month, and was
sentenced to 180 days in jail.
But state District Judge William Harmon gave Caminiti credit for the
189 days he already served in jail and a treatment facility since he
was sentenced to three years probation for a cocaine arrest in March
2001.
In May 2002, Caminiti told Sports Illustrated that he used steroids
during his MVP season, when he hit a career-high .326 with 40 home
runs and 130 RBIs. He estimated half the players in the big leagues
were also using them.
Caminiti returned to baseball this year as a spring training
instructor with San Diego.
"When I saw him in spring training, he didn't look good," Towers said.
"I'm not surprised."
"The best way to describe him is that he was a warrior in every sense
of the word. I can't tell you how many times I remember him hobbling
into the manager's office, barely able to walk, and saying, `Put me in
the lineup.'"
Licht said Caminiti was in New York this past weekend to help a
friend, but did not go into detail.
"Man, that's just a tough one. I played with him for eight years,"
Dodgers outfielder Steve Finley said Sunday night, learning of
Caminiti's death after St. Louis eliminated Los Angeles from the
playoffs.
"He was a great player, but he got mixed up in the wrong things -
taking drugs. It's a sad reminder of how bad drugs are and what they
can do to your body. It's a loss all of us will feel."
Caminiti batted .272 with 239 homers and 983 RBIs with Houston, San
Diego, Texas and Atlanta.
bgs
news:6c8a61dd.04101...@posting.google.com...
Holy cow. This isn't what I expected to read on a late night trip to the
puter since I couldn't sleep. He was a troubled guy with a drug problem and
this is all very saddening to me.
bgs
The news just gets worse - Christopher Reeves has died as well.
R.I.P., Superman
zambi
at both ends.
He had a fondness for cocaine. He also had a fondness for blaming his
downfall on other's. Especially MLB and the MLB Players association.
Because of liberal bugetary constraints, the superpowers that used to exist
have had to outsource their intelligence operations. That's left the best of
our folks to buy the best of their folks. One of these cells is the famed
"Black Widows" of the former KGB.
Women trained to love, and kill. A famous asset, to say the least. Their
motto was, a tit for a tat! Gorgeous, sultry, handy with stilleto heels, and
most of all... not known individually, or as a group, as Natasha.
Ken promised the world a book. One that would blow the lid off of drug abuse
and other "vice" activities in Major Leauge Baseball. And he loved his toot
and pretty "Russian" hookers. MLB and the MLBPA knew this. So they called
the best company in the world know to deal with "small, but embarrasing"
problems.
One quick email to a W. Texas Oil Company by the name of Halli...somethin
was all it took to end his life, eventually. A cherub faced wildcat oil
field worker by the name of Wanda was told to report to the company
doublewide on project 4A. She was taken to an RV Park outside of Midland,
told to shower and make herself "presentable."Little did she know that the
company Lear Jet would deposit her at Islip Airport 2 hours later, with a
bag full of handy whipes and peanuts, and a brand new black satin dress
courtesy of DNKY, much less the adventure she would encounter courtesy of a
former member of the San Diego Padres....
Okay, that's all the conspiracy theory I can stay sober enough to write.
Help me finish this. Caminiti deserves, at least, that much.
Dale Hicks
>
> The news just gets worse - Christopher Reeves has died as well.
>
> R.I.P., Superman
Christopher Reeve.
And crap. Y'know how they keep saying life's too short? They're right.
--
Cranial Crusader dgh 1138 at bell south point net
Jack Zwick
"zambi" <zambich...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> More like killed, dead. Great baseball player, great partier. Burned the bat
> at both ends.
>
You notice the new $5 bills with his picture on them?
Mpoconnor7
as far as one season so out of context with the rest of his career.
Michael O'Connor - Modern Renaissance Man
"I actually thought about voting for John Kerry before I decided to vote
against him."
Tom
"bgs" <b...@mindless.com> wrote in message
news:2sun50F...@uni-berlin.de...
Cams was a fan-favorite in Houston, but just couldn't get off the drugs :(
Laura Bush murdered her boy friend
>
> Just last Tuesday, he admitted in a Houston court that he violated his
> probation by testing positive for cocaine last month, and was
> sentenced to 180 days in jail.
>
A half year for testing positive for cocaine!!! When george bush
tested positive for drunk driving, he got a fine.
badlands420
> A half year for testing positive for cocaine!!! When george bush
> tested positive for drunk driving, he got a fine.
That's it, don't even wait until the guy's body is cold before making his
death political. Very sensitive to his children.
Corby Gilmore
Mpoconnor7 (mpoco...@aol.comnojunk) writes:
> His 1996 season was possibly the greatest surprise season in Baseball history,
> as far as one season so out of context with the rest of his career.
I would say that Brady Anderson's 1996 season would merit some
consideration as well.
--
Corby Gilmore
co...@ncf.ca
Savage Lizard
news:780ea958.04101...@posting.google.com...
Fuck the fuck off, you fucking fuck!
I am sick to death of these stupid pricks that look for any excuse to trot
out their politics. Take it somewhere else you lame ass piece of shit.
Savage Lizard
winnard
"badlands420" <bu...@hole.com> wrote in message
news:3bydnc7AH7u...@mpowercom.net...
I'm sure his (Bush) children will grow up to get their very own DUI's.
winnard
Edward M. Kennedy
> > > A half year for testing positive for cocaine!!! When george bush
> > > tested positive for drunk driving, he got a fine.
> >
> > That's it, don't even wait until the guy's body is cold before making his
> > death political. Very sensitive to his children.
>
> I'm sure his (Bush) children will grow up to get their very own DUI's.
Plus, they've already got their own IUD's.
--Tedward
Edward M. Kennedy
They've been lurkers of rsfc since the September that never ended
(they send me lots of supportive email).
--Tedward
Dvd Avins
just give them ours? We're not using it.
"Mpoconnor7" <mpoco...@aol.comnojunk> wrote in message
news:20041011070430...@mb-m12.aol.com...
> His 1996 season was possibly the greatest surprise season in Baseball
history,
> as far as one season so out of context with the rest of his career.
Possibly, but take a look at Javy Lopez last year. Late-blooming catchers
aren't quite as rare as late-blooming third basemen, but Javy's baseline of
recent seasons was much lower than Caminiti's.
Vanilla Vick
> "He was a great player, but he got mixed up in the wrong things -
> taking drugs. It's a sad reminder of how bad drugs are and what they
> can do to your body. It's a loss all of us will feel."
Drugs. It's always drugs. God, that's sad.
--
_____________________________________
If it isn't Falcons or Braves, it isn't SPORTS
johnny
> sneakysneak wrote:
>
>>"He was a great player, but he got mixed up in the wrong things -
>>taking drugs. It's a sad reminder of how bad drugs are and what they
>>can do to your body. It's a loss all of us will feel."
>
>
>
> Drugs. It's always drugs. God, that's sad.
>
>
Strange, the pursuit of certain pleasures is part of our
pain. -Kahlil Gibran.
Dan Szymborski
xeto...@yahoo.com says...
Silly me, I always thought that they tested your alcohol level.
Chemistry has sure advanced since I last took a class.
--
Dan Szymborski
d...@baseballprimerREMOVE.com
"A critic who refuses to attack what is bad is not
a whole-hearted supporter of what is good."
- Robert Schumann
Steve Zecker
Norm Cash 1961.
Cameron Laird
Steve Zecker <zec...@northwestern.edu> wrote:
.
.
.
>> > His 1996 season was possibly the greatest surprise season in
>Baseball history,
>> > as far as one season so out of context with the rest of his career.
>>
>> I would say that Brady Anderson's 1996 season would merit some
>> consideration as well.
>
>Norm Cash 1961.
For me and others of a certain age, yes, Cash '61 will
always be the prime example of overachievement. He was
only fourth that year in MVP voting, though, and he also
received votes for MVP in '62, '65, '66, and likely other
years. Versailles is probably a better match for Caminiti,
then Anderson, ... Esteban Loaiza is in that direction,
but only came in 24th (!) in MVP voting last year.
Donna
> Ken promised the world a book. One that would blow the lid off of drug abuse
> and other "vice" activities in Major Leauge Baseball
No, Jose Conseco promised the world a book. Ken would have never named names.
Just injecting a little truth into your novel.
Seapig
FWIW, Bill James covered this subject in the New Historical Abstract,
and concluded that Kevin Mitchell, 1989, was the biggest fluke season
of all time.
Hank Gillette
sea...@altavista.com (Seapig) wrote:
> FWIW, Bill James covered this subject in the New Historical Abstract,
> and concluded that Kevin Mitchell, 1989, was the biggest fluke season
> of all time.
He didn't seem to think so in the 1990 Abstract, or Baseball Book. I
wonder what changed his mind?
--
Hank Gillette
"The real world is President Bush's Achilles' heel. He can't keep his distance
from it forever." -- Bob Herbert
Ima Pseudonym
<an...@nospam.mindspring.com> wrote:
>"Donna" <foa...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>news:e0cc9d05.04101...@posting.google.com...
>Then why is Ken dead & Jose still alive?
>
>The powers that be in baseball KNOW who was about to write a book.
>
>I'm not sure you aren't part of the conspiracy what with your "injecting" a
>little double entendre into the discussion.
But if there's a conspiracy, then - your life's in danger for telling
the truth.
For safety's sake, you'd better go someplace that "they" can't find
you, preferably a place that they won't be able to track you through
your internet access.
Goodbye, and thanks for your bravery.
FooserX
Ken Caminiti's first major league game ever with the Astros. He made 2
highlight reel diving catches at 3rd, a triple off the wall, and then
later a homer. I was so excited just watching him in his first game,
because he could do no wrong...I knew he would be in the lineup
forever, and I loved watching him succeed.
Anyway...I still think about that game as a kid whenever I hear his
name. Weird. :-)
Scott
James Kahn
>cla...@lairds.us (Cameron Laird) wrote in message news:<4dvt32-...@lairds.us>...
>>
>> For me and others of a certain age, yes, Cash '61 will
>> always be the prime example of overachievement.
>I guess I'm a little younger than you. First names that
>come to mind for me have always been Cito Gaston and Jim Hickman
>(both 1970)
>What makes them stanger than Cash is that they established
>that they weren't good players. (With Gaston's good years
>looking like a typical Hickman season)
>I get Gaston at about an 83 OPS+ for the rest of his career
>(.242/.282/.363) and Hickman at around 100 OPS+
I guess the question is whether a 90 OPS+ player having a 150 season
is more strange than a 140 OPS+ player having a 200 season. I
would say yes, but I don't know for a fact which is more unusual.
--
Jim
New York, NY
(Please remove "nospam." to get my e-mail address)
http://www.panix.com/~kahn
Seapig
> "Hank Gillette" <hankgi...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:hankgillette-49E8...@comcast.dca.giganews.com...
> > In article <42d09627.04101...@posting.google.com>,
> > sea...@altavista.com (Seapig) wrote:
> >
> > > FWIW, Bill James covered this subject in the New Historical Abstract,
> > > and concluded that Kevin Mitchell, 1989, was the biggest fluke season
> > > of all time.
> >
> > He didn't seem to think so in the 1990 Abstract, or Baseball Book. I
> > wonder what changed his mind?
>
> surprising new conclusion, through such a study is pretty much what James is
> about.
We'll hear more about that if James ever runs for President.
I dug out my 1990 Baseball Book, and he did call Mitchell the 1989
"overachiever of the year" and predict 35-38 home runs for him in 1990
(he hit 35). The only thing he wrote there that kind of contradicts
what he wrote in the NHA was "In general, I don't believe in fluke
seasons."
Andrew Smith
news:fddqm0d0fk5godqqb...@4ax.com...
I'm sending this message from space.
a.
Matt Deres
"Hank Gillette" <hankgi...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:hankgillette-49E8...@comcast.dca.giganews.com...
> sea...@altavista.com (Seapig) wrote:
>
> > FWIW, Bill James covered this subject in the New Historical Abstract,
> > and concluded that Kevin Mitchell, 1989, was the biggest fluke season
> > of all time.
>
> He didn't seem to think so in the 1990 Abstract, or Baseball Book. I
> wonder what changed his mind?
His 1990 season isn't THAT much worse than his '89; when James looked at
things that winter (I'm guessing), it probably looked like he'd reached a
higher plateau. We couldn't know for sure until 92-93 that it was a
downward slope ahead and a steep one at that.
Matt
---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
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TJNawrocki
: In article <y9ednWCTG7s...@rogers.com>,
: "Matt Deres" <mdere...@rogers.com> wrote:
: > His 1990 season isn't THAT much worse than his '89; when James looked at
: > things that winter (I'm guessing), it probably looked like he'd reached a
: > higher plateau. We couldn't know for sure until 92-93 that it was a
: > downward slope ahead and a steep one at that.
: >
: The fact that his 1989 season doesn't look out of place with his 1990
: season indicates to me that James' first opinion (which I believe he
: made before the 1990 season) was likely the correct one. The steep
: decline probably has more to do with Mitchell being a very troubled man
: than any lack of ability.
It certainly has more to do with injuries than with lack of ability, although
you could argue that Mitchell hardly kept himself in fighting trim. He was
still a great hitter in 1993, when he hit .341/.385/.601, or in 1994, when he
hit .326/.429/.681, or in 1996, when he hit .316/.420/.505. The problem was, he
just couldn't stay in the lineup.
It's kind of like calling Mark Firdych's 1976 a fluke.
Tom Nawrocki
Hank Gillette
Tom MacIntyre <tom__ma...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> > And I still remember the bare-handed catch of a fly ball
> >that he made while playing for the Giants.
>
> Wasn't that one of the wierdest things you ever saw?
>
Yep. A faster player probably would have been able to get to where he
could use his glove, and there must have been other outfielders who have
caught fly balls (in the age of gloves) with their bare hands, but I've
never seen it.