Ken Caminiti

Ken Caminiti

Ken Caminiti was a baseball player for several Major League teams including the Houston Astros and San Diego Padres (a cursed team, it seems, of which more later), the winner of three Golden Glove awards, and the 1996 National League MVP. He was also an admitted steroid and hard drug user who struggled with addiction throughout his life. He not only abused heroin; he was also a serious drinker who went into rehab several times, once after being arrested for possession of cocaine and ordered to get treatment by a Houston judge. On October 5, 2004, Caminiti was sentenced to 180 days in jail after violating his probation by testing positive for cocaine. His “death by speedball” came just five days after the sentence and following a period of depression; a major contributing factor was the size of his heart, which had been enlarged by years of substance abuse.