Santa barbara foresters
Encyclopedia
The Santa Barbara Foresters are a college summer baseball team based in Santa Barbara
, California
. The Foresters are a member of the California Collegiate League
of the National Baseball Congress
. From to the present, the Foresters have played in Caesar Uyesaka Stadium
.
uses wood bats and college baseball
uses metal bats, teams like the Foresters provide an opportunity for college baseball players to gain experience using wood bats before signing with a professional baseball team. They have become one of the top summer baseball teams in the country after winning their division fourteen straight years and national championships in 2006, 2008 and 2011.
began awarding the Eric Pintard Most Inspirational Player Award in 2004.
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. The Foresters are a member of the California Collegiate League
California Collegiate League
The California Collegiate League, founded in 1994, is a collegiate summer baseball league headquartered in Carpinteria, California. It is associated with the National Baseball Congress.-Current teams 2010:Ten to 14 teams will play in the CCL....
of the National Baseball Congress
National Baseball Congress
The National Baseball Congress of Wichita, Kansas is an organization of 15 amateur and semi-professional baseball leagues operating in the United States and Canada...
. From to the present, the Foresters have played in Caesar Uyesaka Stadium
Caesar Uyesaka Stadium
Caesar Uyesaka Stadium is a baseball stadium in Santa Barbara, California. It is the home field of the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos baseball team as well as the Santa Barbara Foresters.-History:...
.
Franchise history
The Santa Barbara Foresters were started by Bob Townsend in 1991, named after a team sponsored by the local Forester lodge in the 1950's. The Foresters began as a college summer team using metal bats, but soon switched to wood bats in 1996, when they joined the National Baseball Congress. As professional baseballProfessional baseball
Baseball is a team sport which is played by several professional leagues throughout the world. In these leagues, and associated farm teams, players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system....
uses wood bats and college baseball
College baseball
College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. Compared to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a less significant contribution to cultivating professional players, as the minor leagues primarily...
uses metal bats, teams like the Foresters provide an opportunity for college baseball players to gain experience using wood bats before signing with a professional baseball team. They have become one of the top summer baseball teams in the country after winning their division fourteen straight years and national championships in 2006, 2008 and 2011.
Quick facts
- Founded: 1991
- Home ballpark: Caesar Uyesaka StadiumCaesar Uyesaka StadiumCaesar Uyesaka Stadium is a baseball stadium in Santa Barbara, California. It is the home field of the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos baseball team as well as the Santa Barbara Foresters.-History:...
- Uniform colors: White, Cobalt Blue, Red
- Logo design: The word "Foresters' in block letters around a bear cub and a baseball bat
- Mascot: A bear cub named Cubby.
- Owner: The Foresters are a non-profit organization
- President: David HallDavid Hall-Sportsmen:*David Hall , American middle distance runner*David Hall , English professional footballer active in the 1970s*David Hall , Australian horse trainer...
- Head Coach/Executive Director: Bill Pintard
- Assoc. Head Coach/General Manager: Pat BurnsPat BurnsPatrick Burns was a National Hockey League head coach. Over 14 seasons between 1988 and 2004, he coached in 1,019 games with the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, and New Jersey Devils...
- Assistant Coaches: Gary WoodsGary WoodsGary Lee Woods is a retired professional baseball outfielder. He played all or part of nine seasons in Major League Baseball, between 1976 and 1985, for the Chicago Cubs, Toronto Blue Jays, Houston Astros, and Oakland Athletics....
, Casey Cloud, Dan Yokubaitis, and Dave Pintard - Local Radio: AM 1340
Rivals
Santa Barbara's past rivals were the Santa Maria Indians and the Maxim Yankees. The rivalries from these teams stem from the competition between both teams in league play and tournaments. Santa Maria is the only other California team to have won an NBC World Series championship besides the Foresters. Indian and Yankee games often draw considerably higher attendance figures to games at Caesar Uyesaka versus the average for other games. However, the San Luis Obispo Rattlers and the Conejo Oaks have quickly become the Forester's new rivals due to the elite competition among these teams and the annual trips to Wichita for the NBC World series at the end of the summer.Retired numbers
The Santa Barbara Foresters have retired one number, 19. This was the number worn by Eric Pintard, son of Foresters owner and manager Bill Pintard. Eric, former Forester player and pitching coach, started the Hugs for Cubs program in 1995, which benefits kids with cancer. Eric died in 2004. The National Baseball CongressNational Baseball Congress
The National Baseball Congress of Wichita, Kansas is an organization of 15 amateur and semi-professional baseball leagues operating in the United States and Canada...
began awarding the Eric Pintard Most Inspirational Player Award in 2004.
Hugs for Cubs
The Hugs for Cubs program is the official charity of the Santa Barbara Foresters. The Program began after Eric Pintard, a former Forester, lost his life to cancer. The program is aimed towards touching the lives of children currently battling cancer. Forester players make frequent visits to the children's hospital in Santa Barbara and Wichita, Kansas to hang out with and cheer up the patients. Hugs for Cubs also raises money through several annual charity events, ticket and concession sales, as well as raffle sales to help out these children fighting cancer. Every summer, the Foresters will take in a couple of cancer patients and "adopt" them to the team so they may have some fun times and create good memories away from the hospital. Finally, the Hugs for Cubs program holds several events over the summer such as Bowling at Zodos and NIght at the ball park where hugs for cubs patients get to travel to Angels stadium.Radio
, the Foresters' flagship radio station is Progressive Talk 1340 AM. The announcer is Blake Dorfman, who replaced Zach Spear, who was hired in February, 2009 by the Fort Myers Miracle of the Florida State League. Speak had who replaced Owen Grohman as of the 2007 season. Forester board member James Buckley, Jr. was the broadcaster in 2006 and often fills in.Franchise Single-Season Leaders
- Home Runs: 12, Mark Wipf - 1996
- Runs Batted In: 59, Rebel Ridling - 2007
- HitHit (baseball)In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....
s: 76, Hector Estrella - 2006 - Stolen Bases: 25, Adam Nikolic - 2001
- Earned Run AverageEarned run averageIn baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
: 0.00, Jeff Stimpson - 2006 - Strikeouts: 75 - Tim Shoeninger - 2004
- Wins: 10 - Gabe Neboyia - 1999
Notable former players
- James Shields, pitcher, Tampa Bay Rays
- Matt GarzaMatt GarzaMatthew Scott Garza is a United States professional baseball pitcher with the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball.-Amateur career:He attended Washington Union High School and Fresno State.-Minnesota Twins:...
, pitcher, Tampa Bay Rays - Tyler WalkerTyler WalkerTyler Lanier Walker is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher who is currently pitching for the LongIsland Ducks Of The Atlantic League. He is an alumnus of San Francisco University High School and University of California, Berkeley...
, pitcher, Seattle Mariners - Brian BannisterBrian BannisterBrian Patrick Bannister is a former baseball starting pitcher who most recently pitched for the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball.-Personal:...
, pitcher, Kansas City Royals - Dana EvelandDana EvelandDana James Eveland is a left-handed Major League Baseball starting pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers.Eveland throws a four-seam fastball, slider, changeup, and curveball. He is 6' 1" and weighs 230 pounds....
, pitcher, Oakland Athletics - Brian BartonBrian BartonBrian Deon Barton is a Major League Baseball outfielder, who is currently with the Cincinnati Reds.-Early life:...
, first baseman/outfielder, St. Louis Cardinals - Kevin FrandsenKevin FrandsenKevin Vincent Frandsen is a Major League Baseball third baseman who is currently in the Philadelphia Phillies organization.-Career:...
, infielder, San Francisco Giants - Morgan EnsbergMorgan EnsbergMorgan Paul Ensberg is a former infielder in Major League Baseball. Ensberg bats and throws right-handed...
, third baseman, Tampa Bay Rays - Ryan Church, outfielder, New York Mets
- Ryan SpilborghsRyan SpilborghsRyan Adam Spilborghs is a Major League Baseball outfielder with the Colorado Rockies.The Rockies drafted Spilborghs in the seventh round of the 2002 draft out of the University of California, Santa Barbara. He played for the Madison Mallards during the summer of during his collegiate career...
, outfielder, Colorado Rockies - Brady ClarkBrady ClarkBrady William Clark is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. Brady is a class of 1991 graduate of Sunset High School in Portland, Oregon and 1996 graduate of the University of San Diego...
, outfielder, free agent - Matt DiazMatt DiazMatthew Edward Diaz is a Major League Baseball outfielder who plays for the Atlanta Braves. He grew up in Lakeland, Florida.-Amateur career:...
, outfielder, Atlanta Braves - Delwyn YoungDelwyn YoungDelwyn Rudy Young is an outfielder and second baseman in Major League Baseball who is currently in the Philadelphia Phillies organization, playing for the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs.-High school years:...
, utility, Pittsburgh Pirates