Santa Barbara native Jeff McNeil is off to a fantastic start to his Major League career

Jeff McNeil grew up watching games at Dodger Stadium and this week he returned to Chavez Ravine but this time as a player.

The Santa Barbara native is a rookie infielder on the New York Mets and his first 40 games of his Major League career has been quite a hit.

McNeil singled on the very first pitch he saw in the big leagues on July 24th and he has not slowed down since that milestone.

McNeil entered Tuesday’s game at Dodger Stadium batting .323 on the year while starting most games at second base.

McNeil grew up playing little league baseball for Goleta Valley South and moved to Nipomo when he was 15 years old. He graduated Nipomo High School in 2010 and played college baseball at Long Beach State.

In 2011 he played summer baseball with the Santa Barbara Foresters and he was a key member of their National Championship team. McNeil was a junior Santa Barbara Forester when he was growing up so it was quite a thrill for him to play for Bill Pintard’s team.

McNeil is the first Nipomo High School alum to play Major League Baseball.