Forbes wins Mr. Baseball

Published 3:19 pm Monday, June 6, 2022

Bowling Green shortstop/pitcher Patrick Forbes was named Mr. Baseball by the Kentucky High School Baseball Coaches Association on Sunday – the first Bowling Green player to receive the honor.

“It means a lot,” Forbes said. “This was my goal going into the season.

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“… I am definitely proud of myself and blessed for this honor.”

Forbes was a force at the plate and on the mound for the Purples this season. The University of Louisville signee led the state in runs scored (67) and tied for the state lead with 15 home runs. He was tied for second in RBIs (57), second in slugging percentage (1.146), fifth in batting average (.563) and sixth in hits (58).

On the mound, Forbes finished with a 2.36 ERA, striking out 61 in 32 2/3 innings.

The Purples finished 25-10, falling to eventual Region 4 champion Russell County in the semifinals of the region tournament.

Forbes is the second Bowling Green athlete to receive a state player of the year honor in 2022. Turner Buttry was named Mr. Basketball in March. This is the first time Mr. Baseball and Mr. Basketball have come from the same school in the same school year.

“It’s really special,” Forbes said. “Me and Turner are pretty good buddies. We talked about (doing) that all year. It’s pretty cool. It is something I will remember for a lifetime.”

Forbes is the first Bowling Green player to receive the honor and the first Region 4 player to receive the award since Warren East’s Hunter Green in 2013. Warren East’s Mark Biggs (2011) and Franklin-Simpson’s Joe Blanton are the only other Region 4 players to win the award since its inception in 1989.

Blanton is one of a handful of Mr. Baseball winners who went on to play Major League Baseball. The list also includes Brad Wilkerson, Austin Kearns, Luke Maile and Ben Revere.

“Hopefully I can do the same things those guys are doing,” Forbes said. “Hopefully I can get some bigger awards than Mr. Baseball, but we will see.

“So many great players have won this. I am just blessed to be a part of that.”

While Forbes is signed to play at Louisville, he will be attending the MLB combine this weekend.

“I’m going to be playing with the top 200 prospects in baseball, so I will kind of see where I stand,” Forbes said. “I don’t know what I am doing yet in regards to going to Louisville or going in the draft. We will just see. I have a couple of months to think about it.”