By Jim Buckley
For 30 years, it’s been my honor and privilege to chronicle the incredible run of the Foresters team and the ongoing efforts of the Hugs for Cubs to help families. Today, I’m thrilled to announce the publication a new book of those collected chronicles: ’STER IT UP! The Story of America’s Most Successful Summer Baseball Team is now available for purchase. You will not only get to re-live 30-plus years of Foresters memories and magic moments, but 100 percent of the profits of the book will go to help the Hugs for Cubs.
You can buy the ’STER IT UP! starting July 2 at our games at SBHS’s Eddie Mathews Field (see Schedule link above for game days and times). If you can’t make the games, visit the Mesa Bookstore (1838 Cliff Drive) or Chaucers (3321 State Street) to pick up your copy, also starting on July 2. (If we add more outlets, we’ll add them here and post on Instagram and Facebook.) Fans who live outside the Santa Barbara area can order via this link.
Order print or ebook here today! BOOK BABY/STER IT UP!
NOTE: If you use this site (BookBaby), the Hugs will realize a higher share of the proceeds. You can order a print book delivered right to your doorstep or an ebook that you can read on a tablet. The book will also be available for both print and ebook on Amazon and other online stores in a few weeks; we’ll keep you posted. It will not be sold in bookstores outside of Santa Barbara. (Though we’ll have some in Wichita, if you Kansas fans want to wait!)
’STER IT UP opens with a foreword by Angels World Series-winning manager—and big CCL and Foresters and Oaks supporter—Mike Scioscia. Mark Patton takes us back to the 1950s and the original Foresters team, and then John Zant and I tell the story of how Bob Townsend re-started the team in 1991. Of course, in 1995, Bill Pintard took over and led the team to literally unmatched excellence, with a career winning percentage of over .750, a record 10 NBC World Series National Championships, and more than 1,100 wins.
Read a sample here: SAMPLE
Year by year, you’ll read about the successes and occasional failures of the team, from the mighty upset win over Team USA in 1999 to the first title in 2006 to the incredible threepeat of 2020-21-22. All your favorite stars from the past are mentioned, including most of the nearly 70 former Foresters who made the Majors. Former longtime associate head coach Pat Burns contributed an evocative special chapter, and of course, we have a long section about the amazing Eric Pintard.
More than 40 former players and coaches contributed memories, many printed here for the first time ever, that take you inside the dugout and onto the ’Ster Bus (which gets its own chapter!). There is a complete (through 2023) record book in the back, along with what I hope is a complete list of all-time players.
Whether you are a fan, a former player, a parent of a Forester, a Hugs family, or just a lover of a great baseball story, ’STER IT UP! is a book I hope you will treasure. I know it was a true labor of love to create, and I appreciate all of your support in helping our entire Foresters family get a copy.
For more information, contact me at [email protected].
