Santa Barbara Foresters

The Santa Barbara Foresters are a semi-professional baseball team based in Santa Barbara, California. The Foresters are a member of the California Collegiate League of the National Baseball Congress. From by|1991 to the present, the Foresters have played in Caesar Uyesaka Stadium.

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 baseball 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 semi-professional baseball teams in the country after winning their division fourteen straight years and a national championships in 2006 and 2008. [http://www.sbforesters.org The Official Website of the Santa Barbara Foresters ] ]

Quick facts

:Founded: 1991 :Home ballpark: Caesar Uyesaka Stadium: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: Bill Pintard:President and General Manager: Pat Burns:Sports Information Director : Eddie Siegel:Assistant General Manager: Chloe Yost:Assistant Managers: Dave Pintard, Casey Cloud, Dan Yokubaitis, and Gary Woods:Local Radio: AM 1340

Rivals

Santa Barbara's primary rivals are 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.

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 Congress began awarding the Eric Pintard Most Inspirational Player Award in 2004. [ [http://www.independent.com/news/2007/aug/10/foresters-fire/ The Santa Barbara Independent Foresters on Fire ] ]

Radio

As of 2006, the Foresters' flagship radio station is Progressive Talk 1340 AM. The announcer is Zach Spear. He 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
*Hits: 76, Hector Estrella - 2006
*Stolen Bases: 25, Adam Nikolic - 2001

*Earned Run Average: 0.00, Jeff Stimpson - 2006
*Strikeouts: 75 - Tim Shoeninger - 2004
*Wins: 10 - Gabe Neboyia - 1999 [http://www.sbforesters.org/All%20TIme%20Records.pdf]

Notable former players

*James Shields - P
*Matt Garza - P
*Tyler Walker - P
*Brian Bannister - P
*Dana Eveland - P
*Brian Barton - 1B/OF
*Kevin Frandsen - 2B
*Morgan Ensberg - 3B
*Ryan Church - OF
*Ryan Spilborghs - OF
*Brady Clark - OF
*Matt Diaz -OF
*Delwyn Young - OF [http://www.sbforesters.org/Prosters.html]

References

External links

* [http://www.sbforesters.org]
* [http://www.calsummerball.com]
* [http://www.nbcbaseball.com]