San Diego Padres to induct 1996 National League MVP third baseman Ken Caminiti into Hall of Fame with pregame ceremonies on August 6.
To baseball fans who aren’t familiar with the San Diego Padres, he’s the third baseman who helped lead the 1998 Padres to the World Series. He’s also the guy who admitted to using steroids during his MVP season, and he was riddled by as many demons as he was injuries.
To San Diegans, Ken Caminiti is a local legend who found a place to call home in the struggling Padres organization, who played through that 1996 MVP season with a torn rotator cuff, and who will always be a hero in the eyes of Padres fans who welcomed him into the Friar Faithful with open arms, demons and all. This Saturday, Caminiti is being posthumously inducted into the Padres Hall of Fame.
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Caminiti played with the Padres from 1995-1998 and was a huge part of the 1996 National League West Champion team and the 1998 World Series team. The three time All-Star (1994, 1996, 1997) and three time Golden Glove winner (1995, 1996, 1997) played hard, and was known for fighting through injuries and being a badass baseball player for a team that had a lot of heart but not a lot of success in the postseason.
The 1996 Padres won the NL West but lost in three games to Cardinals in the NLDS, while the 1998 Padres made it all the way to the World Series only to lose to the New York Yankees in four games. Prior to 1998, the only other World Series appearance for the Padres came in 1984, where they lost to the Detroit Tigers in four games.
The 1998 season will live on in the annals of Padres history as the stuff of legends. The members of the 1998 team, including Padres icons Tony Gwynn and Trevor Hoffman, are the gold standard in San Diego. Despite his rough exterior, Ken Caminiti was a fan favorite who inspired his own version of the Macarena, “Hey Caminiti.”
Caminiti retired in 2001, and in a 2002 Sports Illustrated report he admitted to using steroids during the 1996 season. He also had several bouts with alcohol and drugs, but in spite of these challenges, he was still viewed as a San Diego hero. Caminiti died of a drug overdose in 2004 at the age of 41. He will be posthumously inducted into the Padres Hall of Fame on August 6 with a weekend of celebrations including a 1996 throwback fireworks show after Friday’s game and Ken Caminiti throwback replica jerseys on Saturday night.
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