Cam Caminiti's pro baseball journey begins
Ken's cousin was drafted in the first round of the MLB Draft Sunday.
Baseball is a game of lineage and generations.
That fact was hammered home Sunday with the 24th pick of the MLB Draft, when the Braves selected left-handed pitcher Cam Caminiti, a two-way player who tore up Arizona high school baseball.
The last name should sound familiar. He's a cousin of Ken Caminiti's. And he was selected by the final team Ken played for in 2001.
While Ken passed away before Cam was born, it's special to see the 17-year-old Cam — one of the top high school players in this year's draft — carrying that torch forward.
“The next step in the journey, I couldn't be more excited,” he said after being picked.
Cam's talent is similar to Ken's in some ways. They both are known for bringing the heat — Cam can reach the upper 90s from the mound, while Ken sported a cannon from third base.
Cam, like his cousin, is athletic, with pop in his bat.
While Cam was projected to get selected earlier in the draft, his wait wasn’t as long as Ken’s, who slid to the third round of the 1984 Draft.
There was something surreal for me, a full-circle moment, about seeing Cam being interviewed Sunday by MLB Network's Harold Reynolds. Three decades ago, Reynolds interviewed Ken about his most famous play — you know the one, when he rolled on the ground and threw a player out from his butt.
Ken reached the upper echelon of the sport, becoming a three-time All-Star, scooping up three Gold Gloves, and winning the National League MVP.
Cam Caminiti's professional baseball journey, meanwhile, is just beginning. And it will be so exciting to watch his journey unfold.
Cannot wait. Wish it was my padres