Three Former Major League Players to be Inducted in the Santa Barbara Foresters Hall of Fame

Three former Major League players who spent summers in Santa Barbara playing for the Foresters — Josh Jung, Brett Hayes, and Dana Eveland — will be inducted in the Santa Barbara Foresters Hall of Fame on Sunday, January 28.

Since 2006, the Santa Barbara Foresters have won 10 national baseball championships and have sent more than 60 players to the major leagues. In 2023, two of those former players — third baseman Jung and coach Hayes of the Texas Rangers — joined an even more elite ball club: They became the first former Foresters to win World Series rings.

“We were thrilled to watch Josh and Brett win the Series,” said Foresters manager Bill Pintard. “And we’re very excited to see them again to congratulate them in person and welcome them to the Hall. It’s one of our biggest events of the year, and we look forward to seeing fans, family, and friends.”

Fans and local supporters are invited to buy tickets to come and support the team and the Hugs for Cubs, as well as enjoy a great evening of fabulous food, great wine, and lots of baseball talk. The whole family is welcome. 

More About the Hall of Famers

Josh Jung is a former Texas Tech Red Raider and played with the Foresters in 2017, when he hit .341 and led the team with 20 RBI while playing lights-out defense. Two years later, Jung was chosen eighth overall (one of the highest Foresters draft picks ever) by the Rangers. He debuted in late 2022 and by the start of the ’23 season had grabbed the starting spot at third base. He was a two-time American League (AL) Rookie of the Month, helping power the Rangers with 23 homers and 70 RBI on the season while earning a spot on the starting line for the AL All-Star Team. Jung was a key part of the team’s surprising run through the AL playoffs, and then hit .350 as the Rangers beat the Diamondbacks to win the franchise’s first World Series. He is the first Foresters player to earn a World Series ring.

Brett Hayes is a catcher who played his college ball at the University of Nevada. Hayes was a Forester in 2003 and helped the team to a runner-up finish in the NBC World Series, where the Foresters lost in the finals to a team from Taiwan. He was drafted in the second round by the then-Florida Marlins in 2005 and made his big-league debut in 2009. He later played for Kansas City and Cleveland, before moving into scouting. He became the Rangers’ bullpen coach in 2022 and in 2023 joined the celebration as his team won the 2023 World Series. 

Dana Eveland has pitched all around the world, starting at Hill College in Texas, then with the Foresters in 2002. He went on to pitch for 11 Major League seasons with 10 teams from 2005 to 2016, including 2011 with the L.A. Dodgers, plus stints in Korea and Mexico. He is a regular player in the Foresters golf tournament and a big supporter of the Hugs for Cubs. His brother Kyle is also a former Forester.

That trio will join more than 25 other people (and the 2006 national championship team) in the Foresters Hall of Fame, a group that will now include 14 Major Leaguers. The Hugs for Cubs program, which helps kids and families battling cancer, is represented by the late Eric Pintard and Chris Messier. Other Hall of Fame members include longtime volunteers and supporters. 

About the Event

Baseball fans will also enjoy hearing from and meeting a special guest, another former Major Leaguer, Roy Howell. The 11-year Major Leaguer played at Lompoc High and was the first-round draft pick of the Texas Rangers in 1972. 

The Foresters Hall of Fame Ceremony will be held on Sunday, January 28, from 4-8 p.m. at the Cabrillo Pavilion (1118 E. Cabrillo Blvd.). The Foresters board of directors invites Foresters fans, family, and friends to come to get tickets for 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 free for kids 5 and younger. Groups can also buy a table of eight. 

Those who are not able to attend can still support the Hugs for Cubs by sponsoring a Hugs for Cubs kid for 2024. For more information or to purchase Hall of Fame tickets, see sbforesters.org, or email info@sbforesters.org.