Steroids, Recreational Drugs, and the Legacy of Ken Caminiti
by Jonathan Leshanski
October 19, 2004
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Ken Caminiti was a ballplayer and a good one but he was a lot more. Caminiti had problems - problems with drugs, alcohol and his own inner demons. But he was a man of remarkable courage that tried to face his problems, find help, and to help others that walked the same path. He spoke out to expose steroid use, though he would never condemn their use and he considered the financial rewards to be worth the cost in relationship to health, even his own which was seriously affected. He estimated that 50% of baseball players used steroids in an interview back in May - and he took a lot of heat for that statement, from the Players Union, from players, writers, and even owners.
Preliminary reports say that Ken Caminiti died of a massive drug overdose. You can blame that on his addictions, you can blame that on human frailty, and you can blame that on the Players Union.
Yes, it’s true that Ken Caminiti retired in 2001 and that he had not been under the umbrella of the Union for many years, but it was the Union that let a former MVP reach this stage in his life and they have let far too many player get into harms way. It has been a part of the Union culture for too long – shielding the players from any meaningful drug testing, from crack to steroids. The policy has been to try to shelter players from ownership and ownership control and meddling, but in that attempt they’ve blinded themselves to the harm they were doing to their own membership.
The Union has had other drug addictions laid at their door – remember Steve Howe, Darryl Strawberry, Dwight Gooden, Vida Blue, and Ferguson Jenkins - to name a few of the more prominent ones, but this is the first time that a recently retired Major Leaguer has died of an overdose. There has been rehab, jail time, and treatment for some players and former players but virtually every single time drug use has been an issue the Union has attempted to hide and protect the offenders rather than seeing them suspended and getting proper treatment.
Most of us recognize that drug addiction is a disease, but not all drug use is addiction. The MLBPA (the Major League Baseball Players Association - aka the Union) recognizes that and believes that the majority of drug use in the game is either recreational or for personal enhancement. Because of that they have opposed drug testing based upon the right to privacy and the fact that MLB players are not in a position to endanger others through their drug use.
It’s certainly true that none of the players are driving school buses, treating wounded patients, or installing key safety equipment in public places but who is protecting the players from themselves? There have been other deaths among ballplayers, including those of Steve Bechler from overdoses of “legal” supplements like ephedra and recent tests have shown that steroid use among players is rampant - even if you just believe the tests that show barely 5% of players are using and not that 30+% were using before this season.
Yes, baseball has finally adopted a steroid policy - just as toothless as their policy when it comes to those of other drugs, but even that came about against a union that kicked and screamed against it as the public, owners, congress and a handful of player representatives asked, begged and demanded it.
Strangely enough despite the fact that owners have wanted to protect their investment in players through treatment and rehab rather than suspensions without pay and bans from the game, the Union has taken a strong anti-testing stance. Perhaps that’s not so strange as historically the players were exploited - and badly by owners - at least through the seventies before the Union became the most powerful union in all of professional sports. It’s a past that the Union leaders have never forgotten and it dwells heavily on their thoughts.
It’s a rage that has blinded them, to the detriment of players present, recent past, and future. Drug testing and not just for steroids will insure that drug users are caught and offered real treatment earlier in their careers, before they’ve been using for years and have become seriously addicted. The recreational users will likely choose their baseball careers and the millions that go with it and those with serious problems might find help.
Maybe that will lead to fewer cases like that of Ken Caminiti.
Goodbye Ken, you will be missed, I hope that in death your legacy will be one that transforms the game for the benefit of all the players who walk the road you have traveled and struggled with.
The condolences of myself and everyone here at At Home Plate go out to the friends and family of Ken Caminiti.
