After two seasons on the bench due to COVID-19, the Hugs for Cubs/Santa Barbara Foresters Hall of Fame Hot Stove Dinner is returning.
The collegiate summer baseball team will be inducting three former players who played in the major league. The induction ceremony and dinner is on Sunday, Feb. 5 at the Cabrillo Arts Pavilion at East Beach.
The induction of Jon Duplantier, Jaylin Davis and Aaron Bates will highlight an evening filled with baseball, memories, and great food.
Local baseball hero Ryan Spilborghs will be a special guest, along with former Foresters player and MLB All-Star Morgan Ensberg.
Tickets for the Hugs for Cubs/Foresters Hall of Fame Dinner are on sale at the Foresters website at www.sbforesters.org. The event will run from 4 to 8 pm; kids and families welcome.
“We’re so excited to be able to re-start this great tradition,” said manager Bill Pintard of the 10-time national-champion summer ballclub. “We’re so proud of what our inductees have done with their careers, and we look forward to seeing everyone together again for what will be our 11th Hall of Fame class.”
Duplantier was part of the Foresters’ 2014 NBC World Series national-championship team. Foresters fans will remember Duplantier for his fireball arm; he had 74 strikeouts in 55 innings in 2014 before going on to Major League action with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Duplantier signed in 2023 with the Philadelphia Phillies organization.
Along with being one of the top hitters on that 2014 team, San Francisco Giants and Boston Red Sox outfielder Davis was part of one of the most famous plays in Foresters history. His incredible outfield assist cut down a possible winning run in the World Series title game, allowing the ’Sters to win in extra innings.
Bates was a slugging catcher and first baseman for the Foresters in 2003 and 2004, posting a .320 average in 2003. In both seasons, he helped the Foresters reach the national championship game. After eight minor-league seasons, Bates played with the Boston Red Sox in 2009. He then moved into coaching, and in 2022, was named the hitting coach of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
That trio will join more than 25 other members (and the 2006 national championship team) in the Foresters Hall of Fame, a group that includes 11 major leaguers. The Hugs for Cubs program that helps kids and families battling cancer is represented by the late Eric Pintard and Chris Messier. Other HOF members include longtime volunteers and supporters.
Spilborghs himself was inducted in 2010. He grew up in Santa Barbara, playing at Santa Barbara High and UCSB before spending seven years with the Colorado Rockies. He is now a broadcaster for MLB Radio.
Ensberg is one of the most successful former Foresters, a 2012 inductee. A slugging third baseman, his nine-year MLB career includes an All-Star Game and World Series appearance with the Houston Astros. Ensberg is now a manager in the Tampa Bay Rays organization.
Those special guests and the new inductees will join Foresters fans, family, and friends at the Hall of Fame event, which will include food, wine, and beer provided by many generous local sponsors. Tickets are $75 for adults, $25 for kids 5-17, and kids 5 and under free. Groups can also buy a table of eight.
Highlights of past Hall of Fame events will be shared, along with stories from the Foresters’ 2022 national championship, the team’s third in a row.
Not able to attend? You can still support the Hugs for Cubs by sponsoring a Hugs for Cubs kid for 2023. Information on that and all Hall of Fame tickets are available
For more information, visit www.sbforesters.org, or write to info@sbforesters.org.