The Rockford Foresters were a

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

team based in

Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, located in the far northern part of the state. Situated on the banks of the Rock River, Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County (a small portion of the city is located in Ogle County). ...

. The team began play at

Marinelli Field Marinelli Field is a stadium in Rockford, Illinois located in Blackhawk Park and is overseen by the Rockford Park District. It is primarily used for baseball. The ball field is in the north end of Blackhawk Park and is bounded by 15th Avenue (n ...

in downtown Rockford in 2010. The team was a member of the Midwest Collegiate League and consists of college players playing in collegiate summer ball leagues.

Team history

The Rockford Foresters, an amateur team, were formed by Owner and Team President Joe Stefani of Three Strikes Baseball and other investors including a former owner of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

Rockford IceHogs The Rockford IceHogs are a professional ice hockey team based in Rockford, Illinois. They are members of the American Hockey League (AHL), having begun play in the League starting in the 2007–08 season. The team plays their home games at the ...

. The team was formally announced in November, and the team announced the team name and logo at a press conference at the Rockford Park District on January 13, 2010. Players will be college student-athletes with remaining college eligibility and amateur status intact. Those who have signed professional contracts are ineligible to play in summer amateur leagues. The Rockford Foresters drew 921 fans for their opener, a 3–2 win over the Chicago Zephyrs. In their first season at Marinelli Field, the Foresters won the league's Championship. In 2011, the Foresters took their team to the Championship Series, where they lost in game three against the Will County CrackerJacks.

Marinelli Field

The Foresters will play home games at Marinelli Field. The stadium was built for the

Rockford Expos The Rockford Expos was the initial moniker of the minor league baseball teams located in Rockford, Illinois from 1988 to 1999. The Expos were Rockford's first entity in the Midwest League and Rockford teams were minor league affiliates of the Mon ...

, a minor league baseball team affiliated with the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

, in 1988 and later housed the

Rockford Cubbies Rockford or Rockfords may refer to: Places United States * Rockford, Illinois, a city, the largest municipality of this name *Rockford, Alabama, a town * Rockford, Idaho, a census-designated place * Rockford metropolitan area, Illinois, a United St ...

. Marinelli Field's capacity was reduced following the RiverHawks' move into their new stadium. Marinelli now has a capacity of 2,357 with 100 Level and 200 Level seats. For the Foresters, there will be three party decks, consisting of 20, 40 and 75 person groups

Midwest Collegiate League

The Midwest Collegiate League is an amateur league/wood bat collegiate league that was started as the Great Plains Baseball League and was rebranded as the Midwest Collegiate League in 2011. The players are all college players playing summer college ball, who play in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

NJCAA The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...

, and NAIA. Former Wood Bat Players who have played in different leagues in Illinois include

Jonathan Papelbon Jonathan Robert Papelbon (; born November 23, 1980) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), most notably for the Boston Red Sox, with whom he was an All-Star in four cons ...

Neal Cotts Neal James Cotts (born March 25, 1980) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, Milwaukee Brewers, and Minnesota Twins. College car ...

Kirby Puckett Kirby Puckett (March 14, 1960 – March 6, 2006) was an American professional baseball player. He played his entire 12-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career as a center fielder for the Minnesota Twins (1984–1995). Puckett is the Twins' all- ...

Ryan Howard Ryan James Howard (born November 19, 1979), nicknamed "the Big Piece", is an American former professional baseball first baseman. Howard spent his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career playing for the Philadelphia Phillies, from to . He is ...

, and

Joe Girardi Joseph Elliott Girardi (born October 14, 1964) is an American former professional baseball player and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). Girardi played the catcher position for the Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, New York Yankees, and St. ...

. Players that play in the Midwest Collegiate League come from a variety of colleges and universities. Over 50% of players in the Midwest Collegiate League in 2012 will be from Division I programs.

References

;Sources
Official Team Website

Press Conference and Team Naming

Monmouth College Article

News on Rockford Foresters on WREX
;Notes {{Reflist

External links

Rockford Foresters Website

Foresters A forester is a person who practises forestry, the science, art, and profession of managing forests. Foresters engage in a broad range of activities including ecological restoration and management of protected areas. Foresters manage forests to ...

Amateur baseball teams in Illinois 2010 establishments in Illinois Baseball teams established in 2010