Ken Caminiti’s Death Was Ruled an Accidental Overdose

Ken Caminiti died in the Bronx on Oct. 10, 2004, at 41. The former Padres third baseman and 1996 National League Most Valuable Player had appeared in a Houston court five days earlier and admitted violating his probation after testing positive for cocaine.

The initial autopsy was inconclusive, and authorities deferred a final ruling pending toxicology results. On Nov. 1, Grace Brugess, a spokeswoman for the New York City medical examiner’s office, said the tests had established the cause of death as “acute intoxication due to the combined effects of cocaine and opiates.” Coronary artery disease and an enlarged heart were contributing factors. The death was ruled an accident.

At the Oct. 5 court appearance, Caminiti was sentenced to 180 days in jail for the probation violation. He received credit for time already spent in jail or treatment and was quickly freed.

Caminiti played 15 major-league seasons. With San Diego in 1996, he hit .326 with 40 home runs and 130 runs batted in, winning the MVP award unanimously. He helped the Padres win a division title that year and reach the World Series in 1998.

His public account of his career also included drug use. In 2002, Caminiti told Sports Illustrated that he had used steroids during his MVP season. He had also acknowledged problems with alcohol and cocaine and entered an addiction treatment clinic in 2000.

After retiring in 2001, Caminiti returned to the Padres as a spring training instructor in 2004. His agent and lawyer, Rick Licht, said Caminiti had hoped to mentor younger players about avoiding his mistakes. Licht said he could not comment on any past opiate use by Caminiti, but responded to the medical findings: “There’s nothing in the report that changes the enormous amount of love that Ken had in his heart for his family, his friends and his teammates.”