'Ster It Up!

'STER IT UP! is about baseball, but it's also about love and hope and joy and challenge and hearbreak and inspiration. It's a lot of fun, too! 'STER IT UP! tells the story of the best summer college baseball program in America-located in one of the best places to live anywhere. The Santa Barbara Foresters have won a record 10 NBC World Series championships since 2006, and more than 1,000 games since 1991. Led by Hall of Fame manager Bill Pintard, they have sent 70 players to the Major Leagues. But their story is about much more than winning: it's about love and challenge and hope and joy, mostly thanks to their Hugs for Cubs program, which has helped hundreds of families and children battling cancer. Including a year-by-year look at the team's success, 'STER IT UP! is also an inspirational about the power of sports to heal. Included in 'STER IT UP! is a look back at each of the team's 10 national championships, their trips to Alaska and Cuba, and bios of the team's Hall of Fame members. Meet dozens of Major League stars when they were just finding their way; visit with families battling cancer and see how the Hugs for Cubs helped them fight; go inside the dugouts with dozens of personal oral histories from players, coaches, fans, and more. Find out how the Foresters were re-born in 1991, how Bill Pintard took over in 1995, and just what makes the Foresters so successful, year after year. This is a book for anyone who loves baseball, but especially for anyone who has been touched by the Santa Barbara Foresters and the Hugs for Cubs.