i definitely agree with you on this. c'mon have some taste, his life should not be defined by the fact that he took steroids.
I was pissed about the Astros and Texans losing close ones, but now that seems so pointless. Horrible news.
The first athlete I found myself emotionally attached to as a kid. I remember that when he came up, mid-year in 87, he started out on fire. Damnit. At least his demons can no longer hurt him. RIP Cammy ....we loved you
I would probably think it was the cocaine abuse that led to this. I assume he hasn't used steroids since he ended his baseball career.
I am shocked and saddened. I loved how he played, balls to the wall every ball hit to him. IMHO he was the best defensive third baseman ever for the Astros. RIP
RIP Cammy - on the field, which is where I will always remember you, you were topped by no one. My prayers go to your wife and kids. + (I'm having a hard time hitting "submit reply" on this one).
I've been to one Astros road game in my life. It was late July in 1995. The Padres won 3-2 and Cammy hit a homerun for them. +
Has there been any reaction from Bagwell and Biggio? I know they will have something on their cap tonight.
didn't he homer and then hit a triple off the wall in his first game as an Astro? He was one of my all time favorite Astros.
Wow....I just can't believe this. I can't possibly imagine what some of these guys are going through right now. I've been stressed out ever since the NLDS started. The Astros have to play game 5 with a heavy heart. Hopefully they use this to go out and play their f**king a$$es off. Let everything they do on the field from here on out go to Cam. RIP Cammy
From Chron.com archives: Youngsters key Astros' 2-1 win By NEIL HOHLFELD Staff Ken Caminiti and Gerald Young, two players who were considered the future of the Astros only 10 days ago, gave a glimpse of what is to come Thursday night. What is to come, the Astros hope, in the second half of the season. Third baseman Caminiti , making his major-league debut, had a triple and a home run and made four excellent defensive plays. Center fielder Young made two outstanding catches in the top of ninth and delivered a bases-loaded single in the bottom of the inning to give the Astros a 2-1 win over Philadelphia. Though the slogan on the scoreboard "You Gotta Like These Kids," was not original - San Francisco used it last year - it was certainly fitting. Danny Darwin went nine strong innings, allowing only four singles. But without Caminiti and Young, the Astros would not have won the first game after the All-Star break and moved to within 1 1/2 games of Cincinnati. The Reds lost to New York while the Astros were riding their kids to a win. Through four innings, the first game after the break resembled the All-Star Game. No runs. For that matter, neither Darwin nor Phillies starter Kevin Gross had allowed a hit through four. Which is not to say the pitchers were completely trouble-free. Gross had issued four walks in the first four innings, and Darwin had walked two and hit a batter. In addition, Darwin needed extraordinary plays by infielders six times to avoid giving up his first hit. Four of the plays were made by Caminiti , who was sparkling right from the start in his debut. Juan Samuel, the game's first batter, his a one hopper that Caminiti back-handed and fired across the diamond. For his next trick, Caminiti charged a slow bouncer by Von Hayes and threw off-balance to barely get the runner. In the second inning, he made two more good plays, diving to his right to snare a line drive hit by Lance Parrish and diving again to his right to come up with a ground ball by Gross. By the time the rookie took his first major-league at-bat in the bottom of the second, he had become a crowd favorite. It mattered little that Caminiti bounced out routinely, the fans were on his side. Their reward would come later. Though Gross walked three batters in the first inning, the Astros lost a runner when Young, who led off with a walk, was caught stealing on a pitchout. After Denny Walling and Glenn Davis walked with two out, Kevin Bass swung at the first pitch and rolled out. Darwin allowed the first hit of the game to Chris James, who led off the fifth inning with a line-drive single to left. After Luis Aguayo struck out, Gross bounced into a double play after failing to lay down a bunt. In the bottom of the inning, Caminiti led off with his first major-league hit. He came within a few feet of his first major-league home run, bouncing a line drive off the right-field wall for a triple. Despite the leadoff triple, Gross, through none of his merit, wormed out of trouble. First baseman Hayes made a good stop of a bouncer by Craig Reynolds, holding the runner at third. Gross walked Darwin, almost an unthinkable sin. But Darwin, not the best of base runners, was doubled off first on Young's liner to short. Three batters into the sixth, the Phillies had the first run of the game. Samuel led off with a first-pitch single, and Thompson moved him to third with a hit-and-run single to right. Darwin got Hayes to hit into a double play, but Samuel steamed home with the first run of the game. Though Gross didn't allow a hit in the bottom of the sixth, the Astros left their fourth runner in scoring position. With one out, Walling walked for the third straight time. He moved to second on Davis' bouncer, but Bass lined out to right to end the inning. Caminiti put the capper on a memorable night with his home run to tie the game in the seventh. He jumped on a high breaking ball from Gross and sent the ball high over the fence in right. The crowd wouldn't let up until Caminiti took a curtain call from the dugout, which he did with enthusiasm. That homer allowed Darwin to stay in the game. After Reynolds walked, though, Darwin bunted into a force play at second, and Young fouled out. Darwin pitched a perfect eighth inning, as the Phillies pinch hit for Gross, who was replaced by left-hander Wally Ritchie. Mike Jackson followed Ritchie to the mound, giving up Young's game-winning hit to take the loss and fall to 3 -7.
