Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast

As the baseball season winds down, we've taken the opportunity to spend more time working on stories from baseball's past in Alberta. We tend to go down rabbit holes and sometimes find interesting stories that go beyond the game. Over the last couple of weeks, we highlighted a trip to Alberta for Hollywood superstar Marilyn Monroe and Yankees legend Joe Dimaggio . We also dove into the controversi...

September is a big month on our calendar for "On This Date" events. As the summer winds down, regular seasons come to an end, leaving behind playoffs and championship runs. We have highlighted a number of those on social media, but wanted to bring one of the stories to life for the podcast. The Lethbridge Dodgers were a powerhouse in the late-70's and early-80's, capturing Pioneer League titles in...

It was back on Episode #93 when we tried to get to the bottom of the situation around RE/MAX Field in Edmonton. We had both Edmonton Prospects owner Pat Cassidy and Baseball Edmonton Inc managing director Dr. Randy Gregg on after the latter signed a ten-year lease with the city. It left the Prospects homeless, but not for long as they released plans to move to Spruce Grove for 2022. But there was...

There have been a number of Alberta baseball products who have announced commitments to post-secondary schools over the last few months. In an effort to catch up on some of their news, we thought we'd chat with a couple of the newly-announced recruits. We first talk to Dawgs Academy product Bennett Freiter about his decision to head to North Dakota State University. Then we discuss the decision by...

You can circle July 24, 2021 on your calendars. That is when the Western Canadian Baseball League will be hosting its annual All Star Game . The event will also see a change of venue, as the league announced on Wednesday that it will move the game from Edmonton to Okotoks. Ian Wilson sat down with league president Kevin Kvame as well as Dawgs Academy pitching coaches Lou Pote and Jeff Duda to talk...

Some of the province's best young baseball talent converged on Spitz Stadium in Lethbridge last week to take part in an open ID camp put on by Prep Baseball Report . The organization has bureaus all over North America, providing coverage of athletes through online profiles, scouting reports, metrics and video. It provides an opportunity for the players to get some exposure, while also giving schoo...

Jason Chatwood is involved in almost every aspect of baseball in Central Alberta. So it's fitting that he recently added a new title to his business card: head coach of the expansion Sylvan Lake Gulls of the Western Canadian Baseball League . Chatwood was introduced in a news conference held in late-July and our own Ian Wilson had a chat with him shortly thereafter to talk about being named coach,...

We're back! After a couple of weeks off to spend some much-needed time with family and loved ones, we are ramping things back up again on our website and here on the podcast. During the break, Ian and his family went to Glen Hansen Field in Calgary to check out some Foothills Major Baseball Association action. After doing so, we hooked up with FMBA board member and Wolfpack utilityman Curtis Smith...

Who would have thought we'd amass 100 episodes of the #ADSPodcast? Well here we are. To mark the occasion, Alberta Dugout Stories co-founder and co-contributor Ian Wilson joins us to talk about some of the stories he has been working on, specifically the Western Canadian Baseball League connections to Major League Baseball like Marco Gonzales , Andrelton Simmons and Andrew Kittredge . We also talk...

The COVID-19 pandemic not only wiped out the 2020 Western Canadian Baseball League season, but it also delayed the debut of new Medicine Hat Mavericks coach Nolan Rattai. Coming off a stellar playing career including a few years with his hometown squad, the Mavericks' bench boss was also named the assistant general manager during the off-season. And just like he did on the field, Rattai has taken...

In the first of what we hope to be several conversations branching off Baseball Alberta's Girls Day virtual chats, we sit down with Baseball Canada alum Tara Sliwkanich. The Fort Saskatchewan native has been involved in the game for 17+ years, suiting up for many teams including two national championship winning teams for Alberta as well as the National Women's Team for several occasions including...

Lou Pote has seen it all. From the college ranks to Major League Baseball and now to coaching with Dawgs Academy, Pote has many stories to tell. One of them includes an encounter with former Calgary Cannons star Edgar Martinez in 2001 that led to a brawl with the mild-mannered Hall of Famer. This was the focal point for one of our most-popular stories for the month of June , so we thought we would...

It has been a busy few weeks for a couple of Alberta baseball products as they've taken steps to continue their baseball journeys. Last week, it was announced the Minnesota Twins had signed Prairie Baseball Academy's Willy Diaz (Edmonton) to a contract. Meantime, Prospects Academy grad Kyler Charchun (Camrose) was able to sign on the dotted line to continue his education with Southwest Baptist Uni...

It’s been tough not being able to talk about live baseball over the last couple of months  and watching the MLB situation unfold has been frustrating to say the least. However, it has provided an opportunity for us to go back into the history books and talk about the days of affiliated baseball in this province. For some fans, they have taken it a step further by seeking out caps and shirts of the...

It’s hard to put into words what we are experiencing in the world right now. The death of George Floyd and the subsequent rallies and protests have sparked a movement many in our generation have never seen. While some might think we don’t need to go down this path, we feel silence isn’t the way to go either. It’s a conversation that is happening in every facet of our lives and this sport is no exc...

Over the last few weeks and, frankly, the last couple of years, a lot of questions have been raised about RE/MAX Field in Edmonton. From rumours of affiliated baseball returning to the provincial capital, to stories being told through different media outlets, many are trying to wrap their heads around what is happening. In hopes of answering those questions, we chat with Edmonton Prospects owner P...

"So you're saying there's a chance" was a saying muttered a few times over the last few weeks as the Western Canadian Baseball League pondered what to do this summer in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. After agreeing to postpone the start of the season a few weeks ago , the league's teams gathered again on May 27th to discuss what should happen to the season. Unfortunately, like many other summe...

Earlier this year, Baseball Alberta announced Darren Dekinder was retiring after a ten-year run as executive director. The long-time coach and umpire was applauded widely for his contributions to the game, including overseeing a massive growth in the sport in this province over the last few years. However, it left a major hole at the top of the organization. Enter: Tam Rosnau. She has an impressiv...

Some exciting news for our province, courtesy of Baseball Canada, late last week. With the cancellation of the 2020 national championships at all levels, attention has now been turned to planning events for future years. And the national body announced the border city, Lloydminster, will host the 13U National Westerns in 2021, while Red Deer will get the men’s nationals and Fort McMurray gets the...

Despite the wait we’ve all endured to get back onto the ball field, there has been some wonderful news in the baseball world in Alberta over the last few weeks. Several young ballplayers have signed letters of intent to head south of the border to continue playing the game they love at the college level. We sit down to chat with Tyrese Johnson (Dawgs Academy), Maddux Mateychuk (Vauxhall Academy) a...

There have been a lot of questions surrounding the upcoming summer baseball season in Alberta, across this country and around the world. Will it happen? Can we have a shortened campaign? How willing are players and fans to take part? The Western Canadian Baseball League's board of governors met on Wednesday night to discuss the next steps as we get closer to the originally-scheduled start of the s...

Do you remember where you were 35 years ago? Many baseball fans in Calgary will remember their first exposure to the Pacific Coast League Cannons. The Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners had many future Major League Baseball players on the roster when they hit the field. We chatted with Harold Reynolds, Pat Casey and Darnell Coles about their time in our province and what it was like to arr...

Believe it or not, it was 35 years ago that the Calgary Cannons made their Pacific Coast League debut. The Pacific Coast League squad would spend the next 18 years at Foothills/Burns Stadium, serving as the triple-A affiliate for the Seattle Mariners, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago White Sox and Florida Marlins during its tenure. In that first season, there was a lot of excitement across the province...

It’s not just sports fans trying to grapple in this world without games to watch. The broadcasters who bring us those games also have some unexpected time on their hands, as they’re not spending hours at the ballpark or arena for the games, practices or media scrums. They also don’t get to have that guaranteed, daily connection with the fans. Sportsnet’s Jamie Campbell has found a way to bridge th...

Some very cool news over the last few days from Baseball Canada has led to this bonus episode of the #ADSPodcast. The Women's National Team award winners were unveiled late last week and we'd like to congratulate MVP Kelsey Lalor , Ashley Stephenson Award winner Amanda Asay, Futures Award winner Ellie Jespersen and Special Recognition Award winner Nicole Luchanski . You read that right: three of t...