Santa Barbara Foresters - Franchise 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 1950s. 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 summer baseball teams in the country after winning their division fourteen straight years and national championships in 2006, 2008, 2011, and 2012.