Ken Caminiti, who recently told Sports Illustrated that more than half of Major League Baseball players use steroids, says his comments were misconstrued and taken out of context.

	What They're Saying
	Dan Patrick Show Ken Caminiti explains his reasons for taking steroids. RealAudio

A despondent Caminiti told Dan Patrick on ESPN Radio on Thursday that he felt like he was taken advantage of.

Caminiti, who also admitted that he felt he was "cheating" during his most productive season, was clearly distressed by the recent firestorm which his comments created.

''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 told Sports Illustrated.

However, Caminiti told Patrick on Thursday that he "has no idea what percent is taking it." He said steroids barely even came up in the initial in-depth interview with SI.

"I know a couple of guys who took steroids but it's mostly a clean sport," he told Patrick.

"I didn't mean it to go like this at all. I just want to live my life. All of a sudden I'm just getting bombarded now."

Sports Illustrated spokesman Rick McCabe said the magazine stands by its story, which set off a furor around major league baseball this week.

Yankees starter Sterling Hitchcock, who was a teammate of Caminiti's in San Diego in 1997 and '98, told Newsday he was not surprised to hear Caminiti's admission. .

"I don't think (the Sports Illustrated report) is a big surprise to anybody," Hitchcock told Newsday. "You knew he used them ... And it would be hard to say (Padres management) didn't know it was going on. But I guess you never know."

Hitchcock told Newsday it was common knowledge that Caminiti used steroids, even in the San Diego front office.

Mariners second baseman Bret Boone also criticized Caminiti.

"I don't know what the motivation of a player would be to make as blanket a statement as that,'' the veteran second baseman said. "Whatever the number is, it's sure not anywhere near 50 percent.''

Boone, who was an All-Star last year when he had a career season with a .331 batting average with 37 homers and 141 RBIs, denied he was a steroid user.

"If I took steroids, I could dunk,'' he said. "Never mind baseball, I could play in the NBA.''

Boone was critical of Caminiti going public.

"If he wants to say that he used them, that's OK,'' he said. "But he should just talk about himself.''

Anabolic steroids elevate the body's testosterone, increasing muscle mass. They are illegal in the United States unless prescribed by a physician for medical reasons. Side effects can include heart and liver damage, endocrine-system imbalance, elevated cholesterol levels, strokes, aggressive behavior and genitalia dysfunction.

In the SI report, Caminiti admitted to using steroids during his MVP season of 1996. Caminiti told Patrick that he used the steroids for healing purposes, not for building strength. It was by far his best season -- Caminiti hit .326 with 40 homers and 130 RBI for the Astros that season. Caminiti's 15-year career ended last season.

Caminiti was asked by Patrick if he felt he cheated in 1996. "I do, definitely," Caminiti answered.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.