It's easy to let Ken Caminiti's death become a lesson about the dangers of drug use. It's harder, now, to remember instead the great ballplayer that he was. But he was.

RIP Ken.

I wonder if his drug use played a part in his death.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Movies/10/11/obit.reeve.ap/index.html
I can't believe all of the "celeb" deaths in the past week or two.

John Cerutti
Ken Caminiti
Rodney Dangerfield
Christopher Reeve (COMN)

I was a big Caminiti fan and rooted for him to overcome his demons. I shared some of them.
Sad night tonight when a superman whose body was virtually taken away from him yet he fought to live is juxtaposed with a superstar athlete whose choices led to his demise.
May both rest in peace.

If it wasn't the drugs then the depression that may have stemmed from the use and imprisonment (and injuries before that) could have played a role. Ken had to be going through a lot of emotional stress which can be very damaging.

Ron, you left out Jacques Derrida.

I have no memories of the drug-addled Caminiti, but I have plenty from his playing days. A switch-hitting third baseman with power? Yeah, you can say he was one of my favorite players. Thank goodness my demons, while largely self-inflicted ones, do not involve substance abuse.

http://maddox.xmission.com/c.cgi?u=creeve
Amazing how celebtrities seem to fall in threes every time.

My opinion of Reeve was somewhat tainted by this article (COMN)

That article was enough to change your opinion? Are you kidding me?

Very sad to here about Reeve, Caminiti, and Derrida. Met Derrida a couple of years ago, didn't like a lot of what he wrote, but he made you think...

Chuck-
That "article" about Reeve expresses the sentiment of some people with spinal chord injuries. Not to say that I agree, but I have a sister who is pararapalegic, and her position (my family's) has always been ambivalent toward him, even after having a really nice experience meeting him. Reeve is held up as an example of how one can try to live with such injuries, but he had a lot of resources at his disposal. He's more the exception than the rule. Yes, he raised awareness and was a very visible advocate, but a lot of people reacted negatively to the way he was trotted out, almost as a token, as if he was a symbol for the experience of all people with spinal chord injuries. I know that probably doesn't make sense- hard to explain the sensitivity you develop after dealing every day with people's prejudice and ignorance about that form of disability.

Always liked Caminiti- one of those guys that always seemed to beat you. Hell of a defensive player- I remember him being really quick coming in on balls.

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/mlb_news.jsp?ymd=20041010&content_id=889961&vkey=ds2004news&fext=.jsp
Ken Caminiti was someone I wouldn't want on the opposite team, that's for sure.... Sad news. RIP Ken.

Also, thoughts and prayers to Mariano Rivera and his family after their tragedy in Panama. COMN

What the hell is going on these days? That's it. I say, from now on, nobody dies. Everybody with me?

My opinion of Reeve was somewhat tainted by this article

The guy's entitled to his opinion, and he's not entirely without a point, but I've read more than once that Reeve was in fact a genuinely nice guy and not your stereotypical celebrity. Not unlike what we've been hearing about John Cerutti.

That Christopher Reeve aritcle is pure crap.

My opinion of Reeve was somewhat tainted by this article

There are LOTS of conditions and diseases out there there none of us pay any attention to, then someone is affected by one, either personally or a loved one and we become Advocates....

I agree, I believe that article is pure crap, (P.S. I read it, I'm entitled to my opinion)

If you going to take offence to Maddox articles, then you are about 5 years too late. Maddox's writing may be insensitive and crude, but he's right more often than not. At the very least, his points are a welcome counterargument to the homogenized pablum that passes for opinion in most places.

Maybe I'm out of line to even suggest it.. but isn't it reality that steroids is almost surely the cause, and how many more of these 'athletes' will we be seeing dying early? Look in the wrestling world for instance, they're literally dropping like flies and it isn't the 5 year tradeoff that is usually used in the hypothetical trade for fame, it seems more like 20+ to me.

err x the literally from that.. like steroid use, that was just dumb. ; )

What a sad, sad story. Here is Caminiti's career record. It does tell a baseball story, but his life after baseball was indeed tragic.

RhyZa, Caminiti also had problems with cocaine and crack, so I don't think we can conclude that using steroids caused this problem.

Christian summarises my feelings about Maddox quite well. I don't agree with everything he says, but he makes a fair number of good points that many would never dare to say. Also, he's quite funny sometimes as his articles making fun of children's artwork or Bill O'Reily.

I always remembered Ken Caminiti as a big strikeout guy, but his strikeout totals aren't that high for a slugger. He also seemed like a fairly good defensive third baseman, as I remember several of his plays ending up on highlight packages. He had a strong arm for a third baseman, I think.

It's sad to see someone go so young.

Maddox's writing may be insensitive and crude, but he's right more often than not.

Hey, I'm more irreverent than most people I know. That's not what I have a problem with. And I've never heard of this Maddox until this thing. I looked back on some of his other work and some of it is pretty funny. But calling Christopher Reeve an asshole for not openly considering spinal inuries prior to his accident is a stupid criticism. Maddox does similar by not taking public offence to Reeve's charity until the very day Reeve dies. Is Michael J. Fox an asshole too? Or will we have to wait until his funeral to hear? I wonder what he would think of Terry Fox. I suppose it was selfish for Martin Luther King to campaign for civil rights because he was black.

On this one, he makes a bombastic statement and writes nothing to back it up.

Keith, I think you have some good points, however Maddox did not wait until Reeves died to post that article, I read it many months before Reeves died.

I was completely shocked when I heard the news about Caminiti. As a little girl I just loved watching him play. I got to meet him several times and he was so friendly and down to earth. I was lucky enough to get several autographs to pass down to my 2 boys. Even luckier to pick him out in Walmart one night and get a magazine signed also.

May he rest in peace and be remember as a hell of a baseball player and obviously a great guy at heart.