Ken Caminiti breaks into MLB Ken Caminiti made his MLB debut with the Houston Astros in 1987. In 2004, he returned to baseball as a spring training instructor with the Padres. On October 10, 2004, Caminiti was in his friends apartment, where he took cocaine and heroin. With liters of intravenous fluid received alongside a Snickers bar, Caminiti hit two home runs in the victory over the Mets. [9] He carried the Padres that year despite a myriad of injuries, such as an abdominal strain, a biceps tendon tear, shoulder and elbow injuries, and pain in his back, hamstring, and groin. He tested positive for cocaine in September 2004. Ken Caminiti Greatest Play By Third Baseman Ever! He admitted in 1994 to having a problem with alcoholism and checked himself into a rehabilitation center in 2000. Similarly, he is a Christian, and his zodiac sign is Taurus. According to billing records for Caminiti's cellphone, there were calls at both 4:14 and 4:16 a.m. to Romero's brother, and another call to him 36 minutes later. "He [Caminiti] said he was trying to get Maria out of his house and she would not leave," Burns said. She said there were no arguments and nothing unusual in Caminiti's demeanor. At about 1 p.m., according to Gonzalez, more than four hours after Silva first called him, Silva and Caminiti arrived at his apartment in Hunts Point. He attended San Jose State University, where he played baseball for the Spartans in 1983 and 1984. Oct 04, 2014 at 1:23 am. Ken had a successful baseball career, and as a result, he amassed a sizable fortune. The powerful story of Ken Caminiti, who changed baseball forever as the first player to confess to having used performance-enhancing steroids In Playing Through the Pain: Ken Caminiti and the Steroids Confession That Changed Baseball Forever, writer Dan Good seeks to make sense of MLB MVP Ken Caminiti's fascinating, troubled life.Good began researching Caminiti in 2012 and conducted his . Preliminary news reports indicated he died of a heart attack,[25] but the autopsy results stated that "acute intoxication due to the combined effects of cocaine and opiates" caused his death, with coronary artery disease and cardiac hypertrophy (an enlarged heart) as contributing factors. Playing Through the Pain: Ken Caminiti and the Steroids Confession That Changed Baseball Forever - Ebook written by Dan Good. She called Caminiti's travel agent at noon, and learned that Caminiti had canceled the plane tickets for that afternoon. Furthermore, Ken earned a call-up to the Double-A Columbus Astros in 1987. Ethington and two other friends said Caminiti had several thousand dollars with him when he left Houston to see Romero. He was a switch-hitter with a batting average in his career. His best season was in 1996, when he led the Padres to a National League division title while achieving his career highs with a .326 average, 40 home runs, and 130 R.B.I. . Ken was a man with an athletic build. Caminiti's friends, in fact, worried about violence in the relationship. Ken Caminiti Trades & Transactions: 06-04-1984: Selected by Houston Astros in the 3rd round of the free-agent draft (June 4, 1984 - signed June 9, 1984). In 1988, he returned to the minor leagues, and played with the Triple-A Tucson Toros of the Pacific Coast League. 12-28-1994 Five days before he died on Oct. 10, 41-year-old Ken Caminiti walked out of the Harris County Jail in Houston, where he had spent four weeks for violating his probation by testing positive for drugs. Free shipping. or Best Offer. 'From this day on, I'm going to get help and I'm going to get my head clear.' Moving on, he met Maria Romero in 2000. Ken Caminiti, whose 15-year big league career ended after a stint with the Atlanta Braves last season, revealed to SI that he won the 1996 National League Most Valuable Player award while on. Everything was all right.". October 11, 2004 / 3:24 AM / AP. Read this book using Google Play Books app on your PC, android, iOS devices. He has a pure loving kind heart personality. He has also appeared in the All-Star Game for three years. It was his fourth such violation and he was sentenced to 180 days in jail but given credit for time already served and released. As is often the case for younger players, Caminiti bounced up and down between the minors and the parent club until he finally stayed up with the Astros in the 1989 season. Reporter Jeremy Schaap and producer William Weinbaum gathered the above information for a report that originally aired on ESPN's "Outside The Lines. "He was lonely," Burns said. Free shipping. [13] Before 2001, Caminiti signed for $3.25 million with the Texas Rangers,[14] where he hit just .232 over the first three months of the season. "He said he thought he was in a unique position to help, because this kid would listen to him," Schaffer said. His remains were cremated and were interred at the Cambo Ranch in Sabinal, Texas, which he co-owned along with his friend and former teammate Craig Biggio. He was named the National League (NL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) with San Diego in 1996, and is a member of the Padres Hall of Fame. In terms of education, Ken graduated from Leigh High School in California and enrolled at San Jose State University. Media coverage of Caminitis death was almost completely overshadowed by that of actor Christopher Reeve, who died the same day. [2] He immediately received a large role, starting 51 of the Astros' final 75 games at third base. He died at age 41 on Oct. 10, 2004, the day before the Astros clinched their first playoff series victory.. He was quite an athlete in high school. It was the fourth time he'd tested positive since he was arrested in 2001 for possessing less than a gram of cocaine. Likewise, he follows Christianity and his actual zodiac sign is Taurus. He was estimated to have a net worth of $12 million US dollars at the time of his death. This book takes a look at his life and the circumstances that led to his drinking (starting in middle school), drug problem, steroid use, and death. At the time of his death, he was 41 years old. "We went to buy a phone," Silva said. In 1995, he achieved numerous milestones and set career highs with the San Diego squad. [1] In football, he was invited to many all-star games after his senior football season. He died of a cocaine and heroin (a speedball) drug overdose on October 10, 2004. The NL MVP in 1996 and an All-Star in 1994 and 96-97, he was also sure handed as he won 3 gold gloves at 3rd base from 1995-97. Talking about his family, he had his parents Yvonne and Lee Caminiti, and his sibling, Glenn, and Carrie Caminiti. They have seven grandchildren, including three from Ken and Nancy, who became high school sweethearts after meeting in the ninth grade and were married from 1987-2002: Kendall, 23, Lindsey, 21,. While on probation, in February 2003, he again tested positive for cocaine, and was ordered to attend the Texas Department of Criminal Justice-operated treatment program, which he did. As for his early career, he started playing for the Spartans in 1983 when he studied at San Jose State University. He finished his career in 2001 with the Atlanta Braves. Moving on to his family, he was born to his father, Lee Caminiti, and his mother, Yvonne. At his home in Poway, California, Bochy to this day keeps one of Caminiti's gloves and caps in his office. 1997 Upper Deck Collectors Choice Ken Caminiti All Star #21 Graded 8 NM-MT. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read Playing Through the Pain: Ken Caminiti and the Steroids Confession That Changed Baseball Forever. After the 1994 season, Caminiti was traded by the Astros, in part to cut payroll and get younger, to the San Diego Padres in a 12-player trade (the biggest trade in terms of number of players moved since 1957),[4] along with Steve Finley, Andjar Cedeo, Roberto Petagine, Brian Williams, and a player to be named later (PTBNL), in exchange for Derek Bell, Doug Brocail, Ricky Gutirrez, Pedro Martnez, Phil Plantier, and Craig Shipley. In football, he was invited to many all-star games after his senior football season. The late Ken Caminiti had two tours of duty with the Astros, from 1987-94 and 1999-00. At 9:23 a.m., a taxi was dispatched to the hotel. He retired in 2001 after a 15-year career that included two stints with the Houston Astros, four years with the Padres and brief tours with the Texas Rangers and Atlanta Braves. [17][unreliable source? In 2004, he returned to baseball as a spring training coach for the San Diego Padres. After his honest revelation, the Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs, Foreign Commerce and Tourism called a meeting, and 50 days after that, the baseball players were asked to test for steroids and drugsfirst time in their history. I said, 'All right. $29.99. "He never told me that they were engaged, had any plans to be married, and ever since the first month that they started seeing each other, the only thing I ever heard about were problems that he was having with Maria and the problems he was having trying to get rid of her and not having to support her any more.". Although Ken Caminiti is no longer with us right now, he was a very rich baseball player of his time, perhaps one of the richest too. In his personal life, he married Nancy Smith on November 14, 1987. Prior to 1989, the Astros' new manager Art Howe announced that Caminiti would be the starting third baseman. During his 15 years as a pro baseball player, Caminiti played with the Houston Astros, Texas Rangers, San Diego Padres, and Atlanta Braves. He played sports like football and baseball quite often and was also on the high school team. They were both drug addicts who met at a drug rehabilitation center. Lee Caminiti and Yvonne Caminiti were his parents. He also played third base for Puerto Ricos Indios de Mayagez in the Puerto Rico Winter League. However, later in their marriage, there were some differences in opinions between the spouses, which made them struggle as a couple. At 10:13 a.m., a call was made from Caminiti's cellphone to Gonzalez's apartment. Romero's son was living in Bushwick in an apartment with his father, Robert Silva. SPONSORED. You can find out how much net worth Ken has this year and how he spent his expenses. The slugging third baseman became the 13th player inducted into the group. In his career, he was able to play in 5 different teams in the US. In the early afternoon of October 10, 2004, Caminiti was in the apartment of a friend in The Bronx, New York City. Ken began his career with the Osceola Astros of the Single-A Florida State League in 1985. [6][7][8] Caminiti had a career season in 1996, leading the Padres to the playoffs, and again setting new career highs, batting .326 with 40 home runs and 130 RBIs (which remains the Padres' single season RBI record).