Padres Induct Ken Caminiti into Padres Hall of Fame

The San Diego Padres honored another hero who left the world too soon, inducting Ken Caminiti into the Padres Hall of Fame. He is the 13th member of the Padres Hall and had some great years in San Diego.

Caminiti only played four seasons in San Diego, but ignited the team and the fan base during that time. He won three straight Gold Gloves, went to an All Star Game, and was the first Padre to win the NL MVP Award in 1996.

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Caminiti’s widow Nancy and three daughters were on hand for the ceremony with his daughters Kendall, Nicole and Lindsay throwing out the first pitches.

Padres Manager Andy Green talked about what Caminiti meant to the Padres organization: “I know what he’s meant to this organization for a long time and it’s an exciting day.”

“I love Ken Caminiti,” said San Diego broadcaster Ted Leitner, who talked during the pregrame cermony “…It wasn’t the number of years that he lived. It was the lives that he touched. [Caminiti] was a great baseball player, and a great San Diego Padre.”

Of course Caminiti died at 41 from a drug overdose and admitted to using steroids during his career. It does make looking at his career hard for some who know that certainly his best years were vastly aided by performance enhancing drugs.

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Saturday though wasn’t about that; it was simply about honoring a Padres great and the impact he had on the organization. He played the game hard and his throws to thirst from the seat of his pants are legendary. He was always dirty and certainly left it all on the field, steroids or not.

He helped led the Padres to the NL West title in 1996 with 130 RBI, a Padres single season record that still stands. By comparison WIl Myers currently leads the Padres with 68 RBI. That record seems safe.