When former Houston Astros star Ken Caminiti succumbed to drug overdose in a tragic battle

Former Houston Astros star Ken Caminiti shockingly admitted in 2002 that he had used performance-enhancing drugs in 1996. Unfortunately, his life was cut short by drug overdose as he died of a cocaine and heroin overdose on 10th October 2004.

In 2004, Caminiti's attorney for three years, said:

"This shows how horrible the disease of drug addiciton really is. Being around people who used drugs and even encouraged him to use drugs made this inevitable."

Caminiti's last appearance as a baseball player was in 2001, but he returned to the game as an instructor for the San Diego Padres in 2004.

Ken Caminiti #11

After his passing, Caminiti's attorney stated that the player had intended to teach new players how to avoid the errors he had made.

Ken Caminiti was arrested in 2001

In 2004, after spending four weeks in the Houston Harris County Jail for testing positive for drugs and violating his probation, Ken Caminiti was freed five days before he passed suddenly on October 10. He tested positive four times after his arrest in 2001 for having less than a gram of cocaine.

According to Caminiti, at least half of the players in the major leagues used performance-enhancing drugs. He once said that he never regretted using drugs. He said:

''I've made a ton of mistakes, I don't think using steroids is one of them. It's no secret what's going on in baseball. At least half the guys are using steroids. They talk about it. They joke about it with each other.''

Caminiti won three Gold Glove Awards while a member of the Padres and was selected by his teammates as the National League MVP in 1996. He participated in the 1994, 1996, and 1997 All Star Games. For the Padres, he has the greatest lifetime OPS (.924) and slugging percentage (.540).

After his playing career in baseball, Caminiti was hired by the Padres to serve as a spring training coach for his former team.