Los Gatos Weekly-Times

It's beginning to look a lot like... baseball!

By Dick Sparrer

Area youngsters are invited to participate in spring training.

No, not with the Giants and A's in Arizona, but a little closer to home.

Willow Glen varsity baseball coach Gary Rose, a Los Gatos resident, will host a Little League Spring Training Day on Feb. 14 on the high school baseball field.

The training day is open to youngsters ages 8-12, and it will be broken into two three-hour sessions of drills and instruction, from 9 a.m.-noon and 1-4 p.m. Each session is limited to the first 100 players to sign up.

The cost is a $10 donation to the Willow Glen High School baseball program, and players should sign up in the front office at the high school by Feb. 10. For more information, call Rose at 535-6330.

Pony-Colt baseball

Sign-ups are still being accepted for the 1998 Los Gatos Pony (ages 13-14) and Colt (15-16) baseball seasons.

Openings remain in the Pony division, but there are a limited number of roster positions still available. As sign-ups increase, players will be placed on waiting lists. For more information, call 358-1478.

Colt baseball will return to Los Gatos this summer. The league will field a number of teams that will play against other teams in the district. For more information, call 354-4170.

The league is also looking for volunteer coaches and managers for both the Pony and Colt divisions. For information, call 358-1478.

Hot Stove Banquet

Brian Johnson of the San Francisco Giants and Scott Erickson of the Baltimore Orioles will top the list of award winners when the 14th annual Hot Stove Banquet comes to the Santa Clara Valley on Feb. 2 to honor outstanding local people in baseball.

Johnson, a former Bishop O'Dowd and Stanford star, has been named the Player of the Year after helping the San Francisco Giants win a division championship. Johnson is the starting catcher for the Giants.

Erickson, a star pitcher at Homestead before turning pro, is the Hot Stove Pitcher of the Year after posting a 16-win season for the Orioles.

Tickets for the night's event are priced at $35, and festivities will begin with no-host cocktails at 6 p.m. and dinner at 7 p.m. The awards presentation begins at 8 p.m.

Proceeds from the banquet benefit youth baseball programs in the area. For more information or reservations, call 446-3443.

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