ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, November 14, 1996 TAG: 9611140048
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
Ken Caminiti, who led San Diego into the playoffs for the first time in 12 years, became the fourth unanimous winner of the National League Most Valuable Player Award on Wednesday.
``I never considered myself on this level before,'' Caminiti said. `I'm just happy to be here and be in such an elite crowd. This is a great honor.''
The 33-year-old third baseman became the first Padres player to win the award in the 28-year history of the team. Jeff Bagwell (1994), Mike Schmidt (1980) and Orlando Cepeda (1967) were the only other unanimous picks.
``I got picked MVP for doing my job, basically,'' Caminiti said during a news conference in Houston. ``I did my job to the best of my ability and I got rewarded for it. I take my job seriously and I play as hard as I can play.''
Caminiti set Padres records with 40 homers, 130 RBI and a .621 slugging percentage, and led the NL during the second half of the season in average (.360), homers (28) and RBI (81).
His most memorable performance came Aug.18 at Monterrey, Mexico, where the Padres and Mets were playing the first regular-season games outside of the United States and Canada.
Battling dehydration and an upset stomach, Caminiti took two liters of intravenous fluid just before the series finale, then hit two homers and drove in four runs in an 8-0 victory over New York.
``I didn't think I was going to play that day,'' he recalled. ``I'd have to thank the training staff for getting me on the field that day. They made a bigger deal than I thought it was.''
The next night in San Diego, Caminiti hit a grand slam in a victory over Montreal. Two nights later, he homered from both sides of the plate for the sixth time in his career.
``I came home from that road trip and they took blood for three days after that,'' he said. ``That was the best week I ever had in pro ball. I don't know if I was unconscious or what. That whole week I was sick and putting up numbers that I couldn't believe. I remember after that week and after that whole month, I was like, `Somebody get me dehydrated again so I can put up better numbers.'''
He refused to be sidelined by injuries, including a torn left rotator cuff that required postseason surgery, a right hamstring strain, a severe groin strain and back trouble.
``In August and September we just jumped on his back and he carried us the whole way,'' said teammate Steve Finley, who finished 10th in the voting.
And his defense was even more spectacular than in 1995, when he won his first Gold Glove award. His most outstanding play came April 22 at Florida, when he threw out Greg Colbrunn from the seat of his pants.
``It was the best play I've ever made,'' he said. ``I've made some good plays where I like to go back and think about, but as far as that play, I really don't know how I did it. It's a lot of fun sometimes to look at it and say, `Wow, I did that.'''
Mike Piazza of Los Angeles was second with 18 second-place votes and 237 points, followed by Ellis Burks of Colorado with five second-place votes and 186 points. Chipper Jones of Atlanta was fourth (158) and Barry Bonds of San Francisco was fifth (132).
Caminiti, who had a $3.05 million salary, earned a $100,000 bonus. Andres Galarraga of the Rockies gets a $100,000 bonus for finishing in a sixth-place tie with Florida's Gary Sheffield, and Burks and Jones earned $50,000 each.
LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. 1. San Diego's Ken Caminiti makes a diving stopby CNBduring a game in June. Plays like this, along with Caminiti's 40
home runs and 130 RBI made him a unanimous choice Wednesday as the
National League's Most Valuable Player. 2. (headshot) Caminiti.