Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast

2019 could be another good year for Alberta baseball talent being selected in the Major League Baseball draft. Dawgs Academy product Cesar Valero has been projected as one of the top draft-eligible Canadians for quite a while now, but there is also some excitement surrounding teammate Ayden Makarus and Vauxhall Academy pitcher Adam Macko. We sit down with Jeff Duda from Dawgs Academy and Les McTav...

The Western Canadian Baseball League season is just a couple of weeks away now. We continue our previews of Alberta's six organizations with two in the sunny south. The Lethbridge Bulls are looking to rebound after a rough 2018 campaign, while the Brooks Bombers are hoping to make the jump into the playoffs after their first three seasons in league. We chat with Bulls head coach Jesse Sawyer and B...

As the US college baseball season winds down, we wanted to throw another spotlight on some of the great stories happening courtesy of Alberta's baseball talent. This week, we chatted with Belgium-born Kyran Weemaels about coming to Alberta and where he actually grew a love for the game (hint: think of a "Queen City"). We also sat down with Edmonton's Davis Pratt as he is one of many from this prov...

We are getting closer and closer to the start of the Western Canadian Baseball League season. Over the next few weeks, we'll be bringing you two episodes a week. On Mondays, we will preview the WCBL season with chats with two different teams. This week, we sit down with Greg Morrison of the defending champion Medicine Hat Mavericks and discuss a big move north for new Fort McMurray Giants manager...

The Canadian College Baseball Conference playoffs are this weekend and the three Alberta teams are hoping to bring home the title. It will likely be an emotional weekend for a couple of players. Edmonton Collegiate's Ty Wagar is into his final weekend in college baseball as he heads towards graduation, while the University of Calgary's Myles Creran shares his inspirational story of playing the spo...

What a week it's been for Alberta's baseball products. From Calgary's Mike Soroka starting strong for the Atlanta Braves to a viral walk-off home run from Okotoks' Matt Lloyd, there was no shortage of heroics. One providing those heroics was Camrose native and Prairie Baseball Academy product Dylan Borman, who hit a walk-off grand slam for the University of Arkansas at Monticello. We chatted with...

Andrew Case first garnered attention for a no-hitter at the inaugural T12 tournament, signing with the Toronto Blue Jays. We hear about that story and more from one of his former coaches, Todd Hubka at Prairie Baseball Academy. We also chat with another Albertan making waves in the US college baseball ranks. Prospects Academy grad Matt Quartel is now patrolling the outfield for the Milwaukee Panth...

When you're a reliever, you never know when you're going to get the call to come in from the bullpen. A few Alberta baseball products are making names for themselves south of the border, picking up saves for their respective college teams. Two of those players on the leaderboard are Tanner Jesson-Dalton (Lethbridge) at Sacramento State University and Liam Sabiston (Calgary) at Eastern New Mexico U...

Baseball is a patient game. Not just for the players but also for photographers looking to snap that perfect image. Amanda Fewer's collection has captured the attention of many, including the Toronto Blue Jays and Okotoks Dawgs. We chat with her about getting into the game and what keeps her motivated. We also sit down with Dawgs Academy product J.T. Patterson to talk about his upbringing and this...

The US college baseball season is well underway and we've been keeping tabs on some of the young Alberta-born talent who are making waves. But there are some players who came from out of this province to train here and are now plying their trade south of the border. A couple of great chats with Dawgs Academy alum Ryan Humeniuk (Manitoba) and Vauxhall Academy alum Josh Burgmann (BC) about their res...

He has seen and played baseball all over the world. Former Edmonton Cracker-Cat and Toronto Blue Jay Scott Richmond talks about his time in Alberta as well as the importance of family while jetsetting across the globe. We also sit down with Ian Wilson to talk about all things ADS over the last little while, particularly his in-depth piece about baseball stars coming to Alberta in 1934!

It might be hard to believe, but a new baseball season is just about to get started up here in western Canada. The Canadian College Baseball Conference will see seven teams hitting the field over the next couple of months, including the Prairie Baseball Academy, the University of Calgary Dinos and a brand new Edmonton Collegiate team. We chat with interim league president Kevin Kvame and Edmonton...

We start things off talking to one of two Alberta products who will be heading to Florida for the Baseball Canada Junior National Spring Training Camp. Dawgs Academy product Ayden Makarus is hoping it will keep him on the radar of MLB scouts. And we chat with TJ Bennett, a young man born in Alberta but didn't spend a lot of time here, as his dad was a coach with the Lethbridge Mounties.

Jarome Iginla was a world-class hockey player, but he also carried a big stick on the baseball diamond. Ian Wilson chats with childhood friend Bill Russell about Iggy's days in St. Albert. We also continue our #1Thru9 academy profiles with a look at St. Joseph Baseball Academy in Red Deer and a conversation with coach Jason Chatwood.

He has garnered the respect of everyone in the Canadian baseball world. We sat down with the highly-acclaimed baseball writer Bob Elliott to talk about how he got into the sport in the first place, some of his favourite memories, and what he would like young Canadian kids to think about as they strive to make it to the big leagues.

Dawgs Academy product Clayton Keyes has garnered many headlines over the last few years after being drafted by Toronto in 2016 and Arizona in 2017. He's hoping to write a new chapter to his story in 2019 though. And we continue our #1Thru9 academy profiles with a look at St. Francis Xavier Baseball Academy in Edmonton.

With Valentine's Day this week, Ian Wilson and Joe McFarland chat about some of the things they love about the sport as well as some of the things to come this spring with baseball in Alberta. And we continue our #1Thru9 academy profiles with a look at Prairie Baseball Academy and a chat with coach Todd Hubka.

Back to regular-scheduled programming. We continue our #1Thru9 profiles of Alberta's academies with Prospects Academy and a chat with Jordan Blundell. We also get some background on what it takes to track Alberta's college-bound prospects in the US with Kevin Wall from @CollegeBaseba12 and http://www.cbplayers.com.

A lot of news in the last couple of weeks when it comes to the stadiums in Edmonton and Calgary. We chat with Edmonton Prospects owner Pat Cassidy about his proposed deal surrounding ReMax Field and we give a little update on what the future might have in store for Foothills Stadium in Calgary.

We continue our #1Thru9 academy profiles with a look at one of the new kids on the block in Vimy Ridge Baseball Academy in Edmonton. And with the college baseball season upon us, we head to Saint Louis University to chat with St. Albert's Jackson Wark about the upcoming season and being ranked one of the top Canadian talents heading into the 2019 MLB Draft.

In his tenth and final year of eligibility, Seattle Mariners great Edgar Martinez was finally named to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Martinez becomes the first former member of the Calgary Cannons to be named to the Hall. We hear from Edgar about his time in Alberta, as well as some who saw him up close and personal.

Young baseball players in Calgary were given a few pointers on the game from a couple of young talents in the game recently. Toronto Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen joined up with former teammate and Drayton Valley's own Shane Dawson for the clinic. Ian Wilson caught up with both Jansen and Dawson for quick chats. Ian also spoke with former MLB pitcher and Calgary native Chris Reitsma to talk about...

It's all good at Badlands Baseball Academy in Oyen. We sit down with coach Jeff Amos to talk about the program's beginnings and what's to come in the rural Alberta facility. And it was Ron Kittle's 61st birthday over the weekend. We found the audio file from Ian's interview with the former Lethbridge Dodger and Edmonton Trapper from over the summer and play a bit of it for you!

It's always fun to reminisce about the year that's been and look at the year that will be this time of year. Joe McFarland and Ian Wilson revisit some of the big stories in Alberta's baseball world in 2018 and gaze into the crystal ball for what's to come in 2019. Joe also chats with Atlanta Braves youngster and Calgary native Mike Soroka about his MLB debut and coming back from injury.

She is one of the most-decorated baseball players in Alberta's history. Nicole Luchanski first joined Baseball Canada's national women's program in 2006 and just before her 29th birthday, announced her retirement. In this special edition of the podcast, we chat with her about baseball, her legacy and what's to come in life.