Caminiti's death a scare for athletes using steroids

There was nothing sadder and more pathetic these past few years in baseball than the periodic Ken Caminiti sightings.

Look, there he is failing a drug test.

Ken Caminiti's play hard, live hard style serves as a lesson for other athletes.(Getty Images)

Look, there he is violating his probation.

Look, there he is being sentenced to jail time.

Now comes the hard, cold news late on a Sunday night that he was found dead, of an apparent heart attack, with few other details available until an autopsy is completed Monday.

And here at the baseball playoffs, where Caminiti once commanded the stage, there is a sudden chill in the air.

Caminiti's lasting impression on the game will not be the 1996 National League Most Valuable Player award he earned or pulling the San Diego Padres toward the 1998 World Series, but rather him spilling his guts in a 2002 Sports Illustrated cover story detailing rampant steroid abuse by himself and by other players within the game.

In the immediate aftermath of his death, the hope is that that final impression is never forgotten. The hope is that by bringing the issue into a public debate, some rules eventually will be enforced in the game for the good of everyone.

How does a man who has been a professional athlete for most of his entire adult life die of a heart attack at 41?

Until the autopsy results are in, there is going to be rampant speculation regarding how a broken man faded away until there was nothing left.

Perhaps those results ultimately will reveal that a steady diet of steroids and cocaine did not irreparably damage his heart.

But maybe enough athletes today who are staking their professional lives on steroids, human-growth hormones and other mysterious scientific "advancements" will be scared straight.