The Santa Barbara Foresters fell one game short of the NBC World Series title last year, leaving Wichita, Kansas, without a championship for the first time since 2019.
After another stellar season that included 10 straight wins heading into the championship game, the Foresters lost 6-3 to the Hutchinson Monarchs in the title matchup.
Now, heading into the 2024 season with a new home field and an almost completely new crop of players, manager and executive director Bill Pintard and the Foresters will look to reach the top of the mountain once again.
“We were in the final game last year and there were a couple of things that were out of the ordinary for us in that game,” Pintard said. “I do think we’ll make a run (this year).
“If we’re not in the quarterfinals, that would not be a successful season for us.”
Pintard, an NBC World Series Hall of Famer, is returning for his 27th season with the Foresters. He has led the team to 10 World Series titles, which is the most in NBC World Series history.
The Foresters, a team made up of mainly Division-I talent from across the country, will begin their season on Saturday, June 8 on the road against the San Luis Obispo Blues at 4:30 p.m.
Santa Barbara will then play its home opener on Sunday, June 9 against the Ventura Pirates at Santa Barbara High’s Eddie Mathews Field at 2 p.m.
Assembling the Team
While Pintard and the Foresters have an impressive resume, assembling a summer ball roster is not an easy feat for any coach or program.
“People really don’t understand how complicated it is (to form a summer ball roster),” Pintard said. “If you’re a person that needs to put a round peg in a round hole, don’t coach summer ball because it’s kind of crazy.”
From late-season injuries during the spring to unexpected runs at the NCAA Baseball World Series, the Foresters have been no stranger to roster flux in the weeks leading up to the beginning of the summer ball season.
Despite this, 2023 team MVP and Westmont Warrior Daniel Patterson will provide some much-needed consistency as one of the team’s lone returners and leaders for the 2024 season.
“Daniel is a leader type, I talked to him and said, ‘If you come back you’ll probably be my captain,’” Pintard said. “He’s a good enough player that the players respect him.
“We’re looking for leadership from Daniel, not to mention what he offers on the baseball field.”
Patterson had a monster junior season for the Warriors in the program’s first at the Division 2 level, earning Third Team All-American honors after hitting .376 with 18 homers and 53 RBI.
Also returning for the Foresters is the University of Michigan’s Will Rogers, who will provide flexibility to the team’s roster as a catcher, outfielder and pitcher.
“The other returner that we’re really excited about is Will Rogers, who primarily played outfield and was learning catcher,” Pintard said. “We’re going to have him catch and pitch for us.”
Along with Patterson and Rogers, this year’s Forester squad will feature plenty of homegrown talent from the Santa Barbara area.
One of these pieces is Dos Pueblos senior and future Westmont Warrior Jesse Di Maggio, whose bat could still be flaming hot from a senior year where he was named Channel League MVP and hit a whopping .506 with a program-record 10 home runs.
“It’s going to be really interesting to see, I know Westmont wants to get him a lot of at-bats,” Pintard said. “We’re going to have him as long as he’s getting a lot of at-bats. I’m excited to have him, he’s a great kid.
“I can’t wait to see him hit, because he is special and he’s got special power.”
Along with Di Maggio, the Foresters’ local talent includes Joe Talerico (Dos Pueblos, SBCC), Jackson Cloud (Santa Ynez, CSUN) and Frank Camarillo (UCSB).
In terms of the entire makeup of the roster, the squad contains 11 players from the Big 12 Conference, seven from the SEC and three from each of the Pac-12, Big 10 and Big West Conferences.
“I think we’ve got a really good group of infielders, and some of our infielders are going to play the outfield as well,” Pintard said. “I like it, I think we’re pretty balanced left-handed and right-handed, I wish we had a little bit more left-handed pitchers.
“It’s going to take a little bit more depth in our pitching, I think we have pretty good team speed. I think we’re going to be solid defensively and we are going to have some thump.”
A New Home… for Now
During most summers, the Foresters call Pershing Park home. However, this summer is a bit different.
Due to late rains in the spring and the success of SBCC Baseball into the postseason, the Foresters did not have enough time to make the renovations needed for the park to be ready to go by the June 9 home opener.
In the end, Pintard and the Foresters organization decided it was in the team’s best interest for the safety of the players to play at another venue.
“We had a lot of rain this year and Pershing, there was standing water on the field,” Pintard said. “When you remove standing water from the field it becomes mud, and the grass didn’t grow back and we didn’t have enough time to be able to prepare that.
“There were some holes in the outfield and I’d hate to call up the University of Texas or LSU and say ‘Hey, your starting center fielder stepped in a hole at summer ball and won’t be walking for 8 months.’”
So, after mulling over their options, the Foresters landed on playing their home games at Santa Barbara High’s Eddie Mathews Field this summer.
Eddie Mathews Field is the closest of the local high schools to Pershing Park, keeping the team near downtown Santa Barbara.
“I’m excited about it because it’s beautiful, it’s a beautiful field,” Pintard said. “We’re excited about it and we’re very grateful to the school district and SBHS for coming to our aid and helping us out at the last minute.”
While Pershing Park may have the ability to fit more fans, Pintard believes that Santa Barbara High offers a unique and exciting viewing experience due to the smaller stands and area behind the backstop.
“For the fans, you’re up close and right on top of the action,” Pintard said. “They’re going to see some really good players and some big guys smashing the ball up close.”
The El Camino Catering taco truck will also remain a staple at Foresters games this summer as well as a concession and merchandise stand.
The Foresters plan to return to Pershing Park for their 2025 season, but for now, Eddie Mathews Field will be the home field for some of the top baseball talent in the nation.
The Road to Wichita
While the Foresters have their sights set on the NBC World Series in Wichita, Kansas, at the end of July, they have a 34-game regular season to get through first.
Of those 30 games, 20 will be played at home at Eddie Mathews Field, and most are against fellow members of the California Collegiate League South Division.
As per usual, the Foresters will square up against the San Luis Obispo Blues, Arroyo Seco Saints, Academy Barons, Conejo Oaks and OC Riptide. This year, however, they will also take on the Ventura Pirates and the San Diego SunRays in league play.
Santa Barbara has a long history of dominating the CCL in the regular season, as Pintard has led the team to 21 league titles throughout his tenure.
Most home games will start at 4:30 p.m. throughout the summer while the Sunday games will have a first pitch time of 2 p.m. Tickets are sold at the gate and are $7 for adults, $5 for seniors and $3 for children ages 12 or younger.
While the season is about to get underway, the Foresters are still in search of host families for the summer. Families who host Forester players are given free season tickets and invited to the organization’s Hall of Fame Banquet.
“We’ve been a host family for three years now,” Foresters volunteer Jim Buckley said. “It’s been great to get to know these young men and then see them in action on the field. They have been without exception pleasant and fun to have around.”
For more information regarding becoming a host family, visit sbforesters.org or contact the organization’s office at (805) 684-0657.