By Dick Sparrer
Ken Caminiti is becoming something of a regular at the annual Santa Clara Valley Hot Stove baseball banquet.
There have been just 13 such banquets held in the area over the better part of the past two decades, and Caminiti has been part of four of them as an honoree.
But never has the big slugger been more deserving of recognition that he is this year. After all, he is coming off of an MVP season.
Caminiti, who starred locally at Leigh High School and San Jose State University, was named the National League's most valuable player after starring on the diamond for the San Diego Padres this past season.
Fittingly, Caminiti will top a list of 10 honorees when he stops by to pick up his player of the year award at the 13th annual Hot Stove Banquet on Feb. 3 at Lou's Village, 1465 West San Carlos St. in San Jose.
John Wetteland, who helped the New York Yankees to a World Series championship this past season, joins Caminiti on the prestigious Hot Stove honors list. The former College of San Mateo hurler will be named the pitcher of the year at the banquet.
Joining the two major league stars among the award winners will be Bellarmine graduate and Miami Hurricanes star Pat Burrell, college player of the year; Leland grad Jason Hardtke, minor league player of the year; Cañada star Pete Fukuhara, community college player of the year; St. Francis sensation John Gall, high school player of the year; Dick Hanlon of the Los Angeles Dodgers, scout of the year; Hank Greenwald of the San Francisco Giants, special service award; Darin Blood of the San Jose Giants, special recognition award; and John Misplay of San Jose State University, Loyd Christopher Award.
Caminiti is the night's headliner. The Padres third sacker got his baseball start in this area. He was a high school star at Leigh before going on to play at San Jose City College and San Jose State University.
He signed with the Houston Astros and was the starting third baseman there for many years before moving on to the Padres. He helped the Pads to the National League playoffs last season when he hit .326 with 40 home runs and 130 RBIs.
Wetteland left the Bulldogs at San Mateo to go on to stardom in the major leagues. The relief ace was picked as the World Series MVP after leading the Yankees past the Braves. Wetteland, who had 43 saves for the Yanks, has since signed with the Texas Rangers.
Burrell was a star third sacker for the Miami Hurricanes last spring, and Hardtke is a standout infielder in the New York Mets organization. Hardtke hit .300 for the Norfolk Tide at the triple-A level and .263 for the Binghamton Mets in double-A. He also was called up for stint with the big league club.
Fukuhara was named the MVP of the Coast Conference after a sensational season as an outfielder at Cañada. He is now playing at Cal State Fullerton.
Greenwald spent more than 20 years broadcasting Major League baseball, much of that time with the San Francisco Giants, will be honored along with Hanlon, a longtime scout for the Dodgers.
Blood will be honored after leading the California League in wins (17), strikeouts (193) and earned run average (2.65) for the San Jose Giants.
Misplay, a first baseman for the Spartans, wins the Loyd Christopher Award, named for the late Major League player and scout.
Tickets for the event are priced at $35. The festivities will begin with no-host cocktails at 6 p.m. and dinner at 7 p.m. Proceeds from the banquet benefit youth baseball programs in the area. For more information or reservations, call 446-3443 or 245-1946.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, January 29, 1997.
©1997 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.