S.J. NATIVE WITH HISTORY OF ADDICTION SUFFERS HEART ATTACK

Ken Caminiti, Former N.L. Mvp, Dead At 41

Ken Caminiti, the San Jose baseball star who went on to be named the
1996 National League MVP before his life became mired in
substance-abuse problems, died Sunday, just days after he was released
from a Houston jail. He was 41.

Caminiti died of a heart attack in the Bronx, according to Rick Licht,
his agent and lawyer. Licht said Caminiti was in New York City to help
a friend but would not go into detail. Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman
for the city medical examiner's office, said an autopsy will be
performed today.

Over the years Caminiti had been forthright about his battle with
addictions to alcohol and painkiller medications he took for numerous
playing-related injuries. He also admitted in a 2002 interview with
Sports Illustrated that he took anabolic steroids during his major
league career.

``This is just a shock to me,'' said Gene Menges, Caminiti's former
coach at San Jose State. ``I'm sure sorry to hear this. That's
terrible news.''

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Steve Finley, who played eight seasons
with Caminiti, also was stunned by his former teammate's death.

``Man, that's just a tough one,'' Finley told the Associated Press on
Sunday night. ``. . . 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's parents now live out of state and could not be reached for
comment.

A star at Leigh High School, San Jose City College and San Jose State,
Caminiti would become an extremely popular player with four major
league teams, including the Houston Astros and the San Diego Padres. A
large, muscular man with an imposing goatee and piercing stare,
Caminiti was a three-time All-Star. He was extremely well-liked by
teammates and fans, who sensed the big ballplayer also had a big heart.

Last week, Padres General Manager Kevin Towers told the Mercury News
that Caminiti was perhaps the most popular player in the
organization's history.

``Everybody loved him,'' Towers said.

During his 15-year career, he batted .272 with 239 home runs and 983
RBIs. His most memorable season came in 1996, when he hit .326 with 40
homers and 130 RBIs and was the unanimous choice as the N.L.'s most
valuable player. That was also the season in which Caminiti, renown
for his toughness, forever endeared himself with the San Diego fans.

Perhaps his most memorable moment came at a game in the oppressive
heat in Monterrey, Mexico, against the New York Mets. An ill Caminiti
unhooked himself from a bag of intravenous fluids, wolfed down a
Snickers bar, hit two home runs in a victory, and then returned to his
clubhouse IV.

``That man would barely be able to walk, but he'd be out on that
field,'' Jeff Bagwell, a former Houston teammate, said last week.

But Caminiti also had a long-running battle with substance-abuse
issues -- a problem he never fully beat. His troubles first became
public when he entered a detox clinic in 1993 for alcoholism. He would
later be admitted to a rehabilitation center, in 2002, for his
dependency on vodka and Vicodin.

In November 2001, shortly after his playing career ended, he was
arrested in a Houston hotel for cocaine possession. He later spent 4
1/2 months in a Texas jail facility for violating terms of his probation.

Although he worked at the Padres' spring training this year as an
instructor and seemed to be making progress in getting his life in
order, Caminiti was back in the news last month when he was arrested
again for testing positive for cocaine -- his fourth time since going
on probation.

Last Tuesday he was sentenced in a Houston court to 180 days in jail.
But he was immediately released for time served. Before that court
appearance, Terry Yates, Caminiti's attorney, said his client intended
to seek more treatment.

``He's a nice guy,'' Terri Burns, his probation officer, said
recently. ``But drugs don't discriminate and he's got a drug problem.
Unfortunately they've got a hold of him and he's got to figure out how
to get rid of them.''

Bagwell and Craig Biggio, another former Houston teammate, both of
whom played a role in an earlier intervention, recently told the
Mercury News that they no longer knew what they could do for their
friend. Still, they were hoping for the best.

``You just want to see this problem go away and have him get better,''
Biggio said before a recent game against the Giants at SBC Park.
``It's a lifelong battle for him. Unfortunately, it's something that
he's going to have to fight every day of his life.''

Now, friends are mourning his loss.

``It's a shame for his family as much as it is for his friends,''
former Padres teammate Andy Ashby told the Associated Press. ``He's
got three daughters who are going to miss having Dad around. It's a
shame. It's a terrible thing.''

Caminiti, who lived in the Houston area, was divorced. In addition to
his three children, he is survived by his former wife, Nancy, his
parents, a brother and a sister.