EX-ASTRO CAMINITI POSTS BAIL ON DRUG CHARGE

Former Houston Astros third baseman Ken Caminiti was released from the
Harris County Jail early Thursday after posting a $2,000 bail stemming from
his arrest Wednesday on charges of crack cocaine possession.

Caminiti , 38, of Richmond, was arrested by Harris County sheriff's
deputies, who said they found drugs in his motel room. He was charged with
possession of less than one ounce of a controlled substance, a state jail
felony. Two men in the room with Caminiti face identical charges.

Cedric Palmer, 23, of the 10700 block of Fondren, and LaToya Bowman, 19, of
the 8100 block of Creekbend, remained in the Harris County Jail on Thursday.

Bowman's bond was set at $2,000. Palmer, who has previous convictions for
narcotics offenses and auto theft, is being held in lieu of a $15,000 bond.

All three are scheduled to appear in the 178th State District Court today.

The arrests came after officers stopped Caminiti 's Mercedes-Benz in Fort
Bend County on Wednesday.

Lt. G.C. Shamblee of the Fort Bend County Narcotics Task Force said the
unit routinely watches motel parking lots along the Southwest Freeway for
suspicious activity.

Shamblee said officers spotted the Mercedes, checked the license plate and
learned it was registered to Ken Caminiti . Because Caminiti was not
driving the car, officers pulled it over.

The driver, who was later released, told officers he had Caminiti 's
permission to drive the car.

"We asked him how we could contact and verify it, and he told us that he
(Caminiti ) was over in such and such motel room," Shamblee said.

Deputies then went to the Ramada Limited Motel in the 6800 block of the
Southwest Freeway to make sure Caminiti was safe and that his car had not
been stolen.

Deputies said when the motel room door was opened, they smelled burning
crack cocaine and found drugs and drug paraphernalia in the room.

Caminiti twice played for the Astros, leaving most recently in September
2000 to check himself into a clinic for treatment of chemical dependency.
He went public with his battle with alcohol dependency in 1994, saying he
had beaten the problem after volunteering for rehabilitation.

Caminiti played first base for the Atlanta Braves in 2001 but applied for
free agency last week after the club opted not to re-sign him.