As painful as this book was to read, it was really well done. I was a fan of Caminiti. I appreciate that Good took the time to depict him as a real person who was suffering rather than just sensationalizing the story. There is a lot of good info in here about baseball as well. An important read for fans of the game.

Playing Through the Pain is about Ken Caminiti's Career in baseball.  While his career was a bit before my time following the sport, I certainly know about the impact that his confession had by being the first player to confess about having using steroids while playing the game.  This book gives an entire backstory on his life and how he made it to the majors and doesn't just focus on the steroids' which I appreciated as someone who otherwise didn't know much about him. 

He had a lot of injuries and in addition to to steroids had issues with other drugs as well.  The book has a lot of interviews with people who were close to him and involved during his career and his downfall and eventual death.  A very sad story of a player that could have been great if not often sidelined by injury.

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review, I was not otherwise compensated.

Honest exploration of the highs and lows of the life and career of Ken Caminiti. Most readers likely already know about the steroid use and complicated man that Caminiti was, yet this book does a great job of amplifying the why behind the steroid use. The author does not make excuses for Caminiti, but rather takes the facts and insight from 400+ interviews to piece together the whole picture, for better or worse. The book also reinforces the notion that not only was the use of steroids rampant in MLB, but it was also not a well-kept secret. Many denials are extinguished by the sources in this book, and some context of the why is provided as well. The book succeeded by not just highlighting the salacious aspects of Caminiti and offering insight into his motivations, struggles, and personality.

This is more of a 3.5/3.75. I have always been a number person so I liked that there were stats about teams and players. This book shows the pressure that athletes put on themselves so they hide injury, fear, and are willing to do anything so they can continue playing. They want to impress parents, coaches, not let their teammates down, but then it comes with a very stressful price. It also spoke about how boys are also abused and it's not just girls. They hide it and then they turn to drugs and alcohol to cope with it. It also shows that males are expected to never shows emotions of sadness, fear, or anything they could potentially show weakness. Overall I enjoyed this book and I think it showcased a lot of good things that more people should know more about and think about.

This is such a sad story of what could have been and how addiction can change your life. Ken was such a tremendous player and a talent gone too soon

Thanks to NetGalley for the Advance Reader Copy for an honest review

Baseball, what is it about this sport that seems to invite and reward the cheaters. I’ve been around and watched baseball a long time and I’ve been told there is a saying in the game dugouts; “if you aren’t cheating, you aren’t trying.” Perhaps it happens to some extent in every sport but baseball seems to be always looking at new and better ways to get an edge.
This is a special book but I am not as sure it is a unique story. I haven’t read many other sport’s figure biographies, so I don’t have much to compare this to. This book covers the athletic career of Ken Caminiti from his early youth to his death at the age of 41. I am a baseball fan and grew up loving the game but am not a big follower of individual players. Caminiti, an outstanding 3rd baseman, is known primarily for his playing days with the Houston Astros and the San Diego Padres. I live in Southern California and was most aware of the unlikely run of the Padres to the 1998 World Series and had only a passing remembrance of Caminiti also known affectionately as Cammy as part of that team.
I found this a quite difficult book to read due to its painful subject matter. It begins with Caminiti’s death due to a drug overdose in the Bronx in 2004. Beginning with this ending one knows this is a tragedy from the earliest pages. Perhaps anyone who knows this player’s story these first few pages are not a surprise. I was not aware of these facts and immediately felt the tone of the book to be quite sad. I imagine the idea was to draw one into finding out what events could lead to this outcome.
The author circles back to Caminiti’s youth and growing up in San Jose California. His family life and early success as a player. He is shown as a youth who lives and plays hard, is driven to succeed but looking back there is an indications of self-doubt and a tendency to push at boundaries both on the field and in life. The author is scrupulous in backing up every chapter with interviews with family members, close friends, teammates, coaches and prior printed material in giving a genuine picture of this man, both in his early days and his professional career.
Caminiti makes a name for himself with his web gems at 3rd base and his hard drinking and drug use off the field. Yet underneath we get to see a man who was well liked by almost all who knew him, went far out of his way for rookie players and wanted and craved respect from his fellow players. A portion of this story covers the 1980’s and 1990’s in baseball when steroids were widely used and were changing the game. Caminiti was one of the initial players who discussed in the media the rampant steroid and amphetamines in baseball. His use of steroids (performance enhancing drugs) is a big part of the later chapters of this book and gives a close look at how and why they gained popularity and at times a seemed to become necessity to excel in these times.
I think what I loved about this book was how it gave a close look at the difficult road to becoming an outstanding player in a professional sport and the toll it takes on one’s body and mind to maintain that level. Caminiti had a physical prowess that made his accomplishments and play amazing but throughout this book we get to see him more as a man. A man who struggled with addictions and personal “demons” as the author describes them and never was able to find his way when his playing career ended. I think this a struggle for all athletes to some extent, but especially so for the players who find a way to the top of their game. Sports are a game of highs and lows. Satchel Paige said it best, “Don’t look back. Something might be gaining on you.”
Sports is a game of youth and even the best players have a life after and both will define who they are. This was a very difficult book to read but it is very well done and I’m so glad to have read it. Very hard to give it a rating. Thanks to the author for the advanced reader copy.

This was an insightful book into the life and trials of Ken Caminiti. It’s a life story of struggle and pain. This is very well written from the start.

Author Dan Good spent 10 years trying to figure out the puzzle that was Ken Caminiti's life. That sort of dedication shows up on every page of the book, "Playing Through the Pain."

And there are a lot of pages, too - almost 400.

Good talked to almost 400 people in an attempt to tell the story of the late baseball All-Star. He started doing research on Caminiti in 2012, perhaps not knowing what he was in for. Now the book is finished, and the first reaction has to be complete respect to the author for putting in the time and trying to find the full story.

On one level, Caminiti had a relatively typical baseball life for a major leaguer - at least from a distance. He was a star athlete in high school, drafted by the Houston Astros, worked his way up the ladder and reached the majors in 1987. Ken spent a few years there before he was traded to San Diego, where he became an All-Star and the Most Valuable Player in the National League in 1996. Caminiti played hard, and at his best played well.

But Caminiti had an accompanying story, one that basically is the reason for writing the book. Ken was sexually abused as a child, and it's certainly difficult to know what sort of psychological damage that caused in the years to come. In high school, Caminiti was pounding alcoholic beverages pretty hard. It wasn't long before drugs became a problem for him as well.

In Houston, he was a good regular third baseman and nothing more. Caminiti's body took a pounding through baseball in that era, but he do anything he could to get back on the field. Ken also was known as a generous teammate, who went out of his way to help young players on his team. But when he arrived in San Diego in 1995, his stats suddenly took an upturn. Ken hit more than 20 home runs for four straight seasons, capped by the MVP season in 1996 of .326 batting average, 40 homers and 130 runs batted in. Caminiti had four great years in San Diego before bouncing around a few teams at the end of his career.

But substance abuse still followed him, and steroids had been added to the mix along the way - which might explain something about that statistical bump in San Diego. He received a great deal of publicity in 2002 when he was the subject of a Sports Illustrated article in which he detailed his steroid use. One memorable line from that story was: "I’ve made a ton of mistakes. I don’t think using steroids is one of them.” Caminiti was about the first to go public with his steroid use during his playing days, which turned into a much bigger public service than he probably realized. He died of a drug overdose in 2004.

The amount and type of information presented here are rather dazzling. For example, Good convinced Caminiti's trainer/steroid supplier to go public on how everything worked. Practically everyone from teammates and coaches to high school friends are willing to talk about Ken. If there's one almost universal feeling that winds through the comments, it's that they liked Caminiti but always wondered what was going on beneath the surface.

The book has a few aspects to it that are going to be considered mild drawbacks to some. There are several books out there by sports figures with addiction problems. None of them would be called a light, fun read. This is no exception. There's also a great deal of material presented, and it's easy to wonder if a little trimming might have made the presentation a little better ... or at least easier to digest.

Good also shows a great deal of sympathy toward Caminiti along the way. His problems are by no means overlooked, but the author comes off occasionally as quite anxious to show off the baseball player's good points. Caminiti certainly caused a lot of pain for his family and friends along the way. It's a tough balancing act to show the good and the bad in any life; maybe this needed to be pushed just a little more to the bad from an editorial point of view.

"Playing Through the Pain" certainly provides enough context on the unusual career of Caminiti to put it all into better perspective. That makes the book a solid success. And for those who followed his career closely - that's you in Houston and San Diego - this will provide some necessary and very appreciated details about what went right and what went wrong.

This book is a powerful book about a complicated man. I highly recommend it to all baseball fans.

Ken Caminiti is presented fairly and objectlively in the book. It's obvious that Dan Good and the interviewees have a lot of love for Ken Caminiti. There are countless recountings of all the kindness and empathy Ken showed to others. But Good doesn't shy away from recounting Ken's bad behavior. We're told about the unreliable and erratic person Ken became when he backslid into his addictions. The last 2 chapters didn't sugar coat how far from the right path Ken had strayed towards the end of life.

The book is very engaging. Some biographies make the mistake of providing endless anecdotes about the same topic. Good has a deft touch in fleshing out Ken as a person, but not over telling the anecdotes. By the end of the book, I felt like Ken was an old friend. He's definitely someone I'd have liked to meet.

If you grew up watching baseball in 1980s and 1990s, this book will bring up a lot of memories. Pick it up now.

If there is one “a-ha” moment when steroid use could no longer be a dirty little secret within Major League Baseball, it was when Sports Illustrated published an interview with Ken Caminiti in 2002 when he disclosed that he used steroids through much of his career, including when he was the National League MVP in 1996 while playing for the San Diego Padres. This book by Dan Good is a terrific look at Caminiti’s life and career that has many highlights as well as many demons beyond just using steroids.

While outstanding in many ways, what may be the most impressive aspect of the book is how many people Good interviewed to paint a complete picture of Caminiti. Over 400 people talked on the record to good and it wasn’t just the usual collection of former teammates, family members and business acquaintances. The people who shared their thoughts on him ranged from Ken’s girlfriends in middle school to his physical therapist when he was rehabbing from injury to his parole officer after one of his multiple arrests on drug possession.

All of these people, plus the extensive research by Good help to paint a complete and very complex picture of Caminiti. On the field, he was both consumed with perfection and competition. He was going to make sure that he always performed at his best, opponents or injuries be dammed. While he was fiercely competitive, as are most athletes, he was always quick to help other players improve. This included players who he felt might be taking away his job. Many of the people interviewed would mention how he was always willing to help others.
But despite this, the demons of alcoholism and drug addiction, including cocaine, were the worst enemies for Caminiti. They not only helped in his decline as a player, but they were also detrimental to his friendships and his marriage. Good describes his ex-wife Nancy in almost saintly terms on how she held together their family while Ken was in and out of substance abuse treatment several times.

The passages about his play on the diamond were very good as well. There isn’t a lot of play-by-play analysis or extensive reviews of his seasons, including his best ones with the Houston Astros (two separate tours) and the Padres. Caminiti also tried to salvage his career in 2002 with the Texas Rangers (I thought Good’s frequent reference to Alex Rodriguez with that team as the “$252 million man” was funny) and Atlanta Braves. No matter what team he was with and whatever his level of ability was at, he was always remembered fondly by teammates, especially Hall of Fame second baseman Craig Biggio from the Astros.

Of course, one of the main questions that readers will have when selecting this book will be about steroids. Good’s passages about this, from the acquisition of the drugs by friend Dave Moretti to Ken’s inner demons on why he needed to use them to the two interviews by Jules Roberson-Bailey and later Tom Verducci that were used in the bombshell Sports Illustrated article on his use. Throughout the book, Caminiti is portrayed by many who, when not under the influence of any drug or alcohol and is thinking clearly, will speak in a matter-of-fact tone and that is how he is portrayed in giving these interviews. Good should also be credited with being open minded about steroid use by Caminiti. If there is any bias, Ken does come across as a person with whom one can sympathize, but even that is tempered and the reader is left to come up with their own conclusions.

Every baseball fan who watched the game during the era of steroid use when statistics were altered, bodies of players changed and the sport enjoyed a rebound of popularity after the 1994-95 strike should add this book to their reading list. It doesn’t matter whether one liked Caminiti or even never heard of him, it is a great read about a very complex man.

I wish to thank Abrams Press for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Ken Caminiti was the brilliant third baseman for the Houston Astros and the San Diego Padres. He was also an addict. This book takes a look at his life and the circumstances that led to his drinking (starting in middle school), drug problem, steroid use, and death.

This is a well-researched, well-written biography of a flawed man who couldn't escape the vicious cycle he was in. A combination of personal trauma, ultra-competitive personality, and a league that turned a blind eye to performance enhancing drugs was the perfect storm for him. This is a cautionary tale for parents, athletes, and those with addictive personality traits.

It is heartbreaking to read of the many times he tried and failed to get his life together. Numerous friends and family members intervened. He was an adult and was responsible for his choices, but he could not overcome them on his own, and he refused help.

If this is you, please get help. Don't let your life waste away out of pride or shame. Life is precious, and Ken Caminiti is a reminder of what happens when you don't treat it that way.

Not family friendly due to language, drug/alcohol use, and adult themes.

Thank you to Abrams Press and NetGalley for the advance reader copy.

As a baseball fan of a certain age, the Ken Caminiti Story is right in my wheelhouse. He debuted when I was a 10-year old fan and retired when I was my mid-20s and I still have vivid memories of watching him play in person and on tv. Looking back, we knew at the time that he had off the field issues, but I never realized the extent to which he battled demons in his life along with compiling a successful MLB career record.

Good went far and wide to interview as many people (over 400) as he could for this exhaustive biography. It is amazing to believe that Caminiti had any career at all, much less the one he had, with everything else going on. This is more than a baseball bio, it is the bio of an everyday, regular person who happened to be very good at playing baseball.

Highly recommended, and you can tell that Dan Good poured his heart and soul into this one.