But his season came to a crashing halt after just 25 games last summer when the infielder collided with a baserunner and suffered a broken collarbone.

Still, lifelong dreams die hard. And Frandsen's been hard at work to make his come true. He's back on the diamond preparing for a trip to Scottsdale, Ariz., to take part in spring training with the Giants. Before he leaves, though, he'll be stopping by his hometown to accept a little local recognition.

Despite the injury that shortened his season, Frandsen has been selected as the Outstanding Amateur Player, and he'll be presented his award along with 19 other individuals and four baseball organizations at the 21st annual Santa Clara County Baseball Fundraisers Hot Stove Banquet.

Frandsen will join Player of the Year Eric Byrnes of the Oakland A's, Pitcher of the Year Mike Mussina of the New York Yankees and special guest Felipe Alou at the Hot Stove Banquet on Feb. 10 at the San Jose GI Forum, 765 Story Road in San Jose.

Byrnes, the talented outfielder for the Oakland A's, will be presented the Player of the Year award at the Hot Stove event. Byrnes was a diamond star for coach Chris Bradford at St. Francis High School before going on to UCLA and ultimately the A's.

Mussina, a starting pitcher for the Yankees, will be given the Pitcher of the Year award. He was a Bay Area star at Stanford University before turning pro.

Byrnes and Mussina join a cast of local superstars as Hot Stove winners.

Frandsen, the former Bellarmine and San José State University star, wins his award after hitting .296 with three home runs and 14 runs-batted-in in just 25 games with the Volcanoes.

Frandsen got his baseball start locally played in the Lincoln Glen Little League in District 12. Interestingly, the Lincoln Glen circuit will also be honored at the Hot Stove event as one of the local Outstanding Amateur Organization winners.

The Lincoln Glen Little League, which will begin its 52nd season this spring, is coming off a season when six of its eight all-star teams won District 12 championships.

Joining Frandsen, Byrnes and Mussina as award winners will be: Minor League Player of the Year--Ryan Garko (formerly of Stanford); Minor League Pitcher of the Year--John Hudgins (formerly of Stanford); College Player of the Year--Jed Lowrie (Stanford); College Pitcher of the Year--Jason Windsor (Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, formerly of Leigh); Community College Player of the Year--Adam Carr (West Valley); Junior College Pitcher of the Year--Rory Papp (De Anza); High School Player of the Year--Daniel Descalso (St. Francis); High School Pitcher of the Year--Donald Brandt (Wilcox); Scout of the Year--Rick Schroeder; Service Award--Lou Lucas (Santa Clara University); Loyd Christopher Award--Jeff Gilmore (Stanford), Justin Santich-Hughes (San José State University), Michael Thompson (Santa Clara University); Frank Bettencourt High School Academic Achievement--David Stringer (Palo Alto), Kyle Jensen (Los Gatos); Amateur Umpire Ted Barrett Award--Gus Rodriguez; Outstanding Organizations--Wilcox High School, Lincoln Glen Little League, Santa Clara Red Sox, Maxim Baseball Club; Sports Media Person of the Year--Robert Braunstein.

Tickets are $35 per person and $350 for a table of 10 ($300 per table of 10 for youth, high school, community college and college baseball groups). John Shrader of KNBR-68 will serve as the master of ceremonies for the event that will begin with no-host cocktails at 5:30 p.m., dinner at 6:45 p.m. and the banquet to follow. For reservations, call Al Talboy at 408.446.3443.