MVP Profile: Ken Caminiti, 1996

Third Baseman, San Diego Padres

Age:  33

2^nd season with Padres

Bats – Both, Throws – Right

Height: 6’0”    Weight: 200

Prior to 1996:

A native of Hanford, California Caminiti played football as well as baseball in high school and went on to San Jose State where he played baseball during the 1983 and ’84 seasons. He was chosen by the Houston Astros in the 1984 amateur draft and played for Class A Osceola in the Florida State League in 1985 where he batted .284 and drove in 73 runs. Moving up to Columbus of the Class AA Southern League in 1986 Caminiti hit .300 with 12 home runs and 81 RBIs. He split 1987 between Columbus and the Astros. He made his major league debut in July and hit .246 in 63 games. He spent most of 1988 in the Class AAA Pacific Coast League with the Tucson Toros where he batted .272 in 109 games before returning to the Astros. In his first full major league season in 1989 Caminiti batted .255 with 31 doubles, 10 home runs, and 72 RBIs while starting 159 games at third base. He remained with Houston through 1994, the first year in which he was named to an All-Star Game. That year he reached a new high with 18 home runs in the strike-shortened season. In the offseason he was traded to the Padres as part of an 11-player deal. In 1995 Caminiti won his first Gold Glove for his fielding prowess at third base while also hitting .302 with 26 home runs and 94 RBIs, distinguishing himself as an intense competitor and team leader.

1996 Season Summary

Appeared in 146 games

3B – 143, PH – 3

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 639

At Bats – 546

Runs – 109 [15]

Hits – 178 [19]

Doubles – 37 [14, tied with Fred McGriff & Devon White]

Triples – 2

Home Runs – 40 [5, tied with Ellis Burks, Sammy Sosa & Vinny Castilla]

RBI – 130 [3]

Bases on Balls – 78 [11]

Int. BB – 16 [5]

Strikeouts – 99

Stolen Bases – 11

Caught Stealing – 5

Average - .326 [5]

OBP - .408 [7, tied with Ellis Burks]

Slugging Pct. - .621 [3]

Total Bases – 339 [5]

GDP – 15

Hit by Pitches – 4

Sac Hits – 0

Sac Flies – 10 [1, tied with Dante Bichette & Rick Wilkins]

Midseason snapshot: HR – 12, RBI – 49, AVG - .294, SLG PCT - .487

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 4 AB) at LA Dodgers 9/27 – 10 innings

Longest hitting streak – 13 games

HR at home – 12

HR on road – 28

Most home runs, game – 2 on seven occasions

Multi-HR games – 7

Most RBIs, game – 6 vs. Montreal 8/19

Pinch-hitting – 0 of 2 (.000)

Fielding

Chances – 433

Put Outs – 103

Assists – 310

Errors – 20

DP – 28

Pct. - .954

Postseason Batting: 3 G (NLDS vs. St. Louis)

PA – 12, AB – 10, R – 3, H – 3, 2B – 0,3B – 0, HR – 3, RBI – 3, BB – 2, IBB – 1, SO – 5, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .300, OBP - .417, SLG - 1.200, TB – 12, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF – 0

Awards & Honors:

NL MVP: BBWAA

Gold Glove

Silver Slugger

All-Star

Top 5 in NL MVP Voting:

Ken Caminiti, SD: 392 pts. - 28 of 28 first place votes, 100% share

Mike Piazza, LAD: 237 pts. – 60% share

Ellis Burks, Col.: 186 pts. – 47% share

Chipper Jones, Atl.: 158 pts. – 40% share

Barry Bonds SF: 132 pts. – 34% share

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Padres went 91-71 to finish first in the NL Western Division by one game over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Lost NLDS to the St. Louis Cardinals 3 games to 0.

Aftermath of '96:

Caminiti needed surgery on his left shoulder in the offseason and followed up with another strong performance in 1997, hitting .290 with 26 home runs and 90 RBIs, and garnering an All-Star selection and a Gold Glove once more. While suffering from knee problems, his average dropped to .252 in 1998 to go along with 29 home runs and 82 RBIs in a year in which the Padres won the NL pennant. He returned to the Astros as a free agent in 1999 and plagued by injuries, his home run total dropped to 13 with 56 RBIs and a .286 batting average. Following a similar season in 2000 Caminiti moved on to the Texas Rangers as a free agent in 2001. Released by the Rangers in July, he finished the season, and his career, with the Atlanta Braves. Overall in the major leagues, Caminiti batted .272 with 239 home runs and 983 RBIs. He hit .295 with 121 home runs and 396 RBIs while with San Diego, where he also won three Gold Gloves and garnered two of his three All-Star selections. In 2002 he publicly admitted to steroid use during his 1996 MVP season and thereafter. He also was treated for alcohol and cocaine abuse and died from a drug overdose at age 41 in 2004. Caminiti was posthumously inducted into the Padres Hall of Fame in 2016.

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MVP Profiles feature players in the National or American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award (1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present) as Most Valuable Player.