June 19th , 2006
2006 Best of the West Reaches Capacity
Sunnyvale, CA- The Yankees have secured the fields for their 2006 tournament. The Northern California brackets will be played at Santa Clara's Stephen Schott Stadium and at Cal's Evans Diamond. The Southern California brackets will be hosted at UCSB's Caesar Uyesaka Stadium and at UCLA's Jackie Robinson Stadium.
The 2006 Best of the West
Invitational is quickly filling up, with last year's top three teams all
confirming they will be returning. The Santa Barbara Foresters (2005
Champions) fresh off a 2nd place finish at the NBC World Series have once again
committed to the tournament. The host team, the Maxim Yankees ('03 and '04
champs) will be poised to win back the crown they lost for the first time in the
tournament's history. Also returning will be Fontanetti's, who won the
Norcal Championship in 2005 and lost to the Foresters in the championship game.
Both the Salinas Packers and the Tinseltown Terror have also committed to the
2006 tournament. The San Diego Stars have also announced they would like
to enter the tournament again in 2006, after finishing as a runner-up at
the San Luis Obispo site in 2005. Two more teams have declared their
intentions to enter the tournament. The Paso Robles Reds and the San
Francisco Angels (2005 NBC Participant) both will be sending teams to play in
the 2006 Tournament.
The Santa Maria Indians, one of California's oldest summer collegiate teams, a member of California Coastal League in 2006 will be in the tournament this year. The Redding Colt 45's, a runner-up at the 2005 San Jose bracket has announced they will be back and fighting for the tournament title in 2006. The East LA Dodgers will be making their first appearance in the tournament.
The Delta Toros will be replacing the Dodge City Desperados, who were unable to make the trip from Kansas. The Toros finished second in the California Cup in Santa Barbara last summer. It was the second time they qualified for the NBC tournament. The Oakland Expos, one of the teams that has competed in each edition of the Best of the West will be back yet again trying for the elusive tournament trophy. The Easy Bay White Sox will make their first appearance in the tournament after a failed merger during the 2005 season with the San Francisco Angels. The Novato Knicks who finished third at the 2005 AABC World Series will be making their much anticipated Best of the West debut in 2006.
The Bay Area Giants will be replacing the Reno Astros, who are unable to field a team to make the trip. This will be the Giants second consecutive appearance in the tournament.
The Bruins, a team compiled of UCLA Alumni will be participating at their alma mater, Jackie Robinson stadium. The team will be led by legendary UCLA coach Gary Adams. The Surf City Hammerheads, a new addition to the California Coastal League will be playing in the tournament during their inaugural season. The DJM Stars, out of Southern California help form an intimidating roster of teams now entered in the tournament. The Palo Alto Oaks, one of the state's oldest summer programs will round out the 20 team tourney.
Due to enormous demand, the 2006 tournament has expanded to 20 teams. Each site will have five teams, guaranteeing each team a minimum of four games. The tournament has reached capacity, with 20 teams all raring to play.
The tournament directors will have four sites, with five teams playing at each site. There will be two Northern California sites, as well as two Southern California sites. As teams from across the country have expressed interest in the tournament, it appears the 2006 tournament will be the best yet.
This year's final has been set for Sunday June 25th at Stanford's Sunken Diamond.