Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast

Episode 305: Hudson Kozicki, Braxton Bussing & Jack Lines

Happy Halloween! Big congrats to the Los Angeles Dodgers on winning the World Series (take a look back at the Dodgers' history in Alberta with the Pioneer League's Lethbridge Dodgers here). After we get through the rest of the news from a busy week, we sit down with Vauxhall Academy's Hudson Kozicki (Sherwood Park) and Badlands Academy's Braxton Bussing (Coronation) to talk about their respective college commitments. Then we catch up with Dawgs Academy alum Jack Lines about getting drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 12th round of this past summer's MLB Draft.
3:42 - Hudson Kozicki
19:26 - Braxton Bussing
28:52 - Jack Lines

Episode 304: Terry Puhl

When we’re able to get in touch with a Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Houston Astros Hall of Fame member, among others, we roll out the red carpet. Such is the case with Terry Puhl, whose career kind of speaks for itself. A 15-year Major Leaguer and 18-year pro, with all but 15 games in the bigs coming with the Astros. He was an MLB All-Star in 1978 and was outstanding, particularly in the field and on the base paths. Puhl helped the Astros win their first ever NL West Division crown and postseason berth in 1980. He now lives in Texas, and we were fortunate to sit down with him to talk about his career this past week. Special thanks to Scott Crawford at the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame for helping us connect with Terry to line up this conversation!

Episode 303: Seth Suer, Ethan Pittman & Taye Thierman

We catch up with a trio of young men who have been jetsetting around North America in recent weeks chasing their baseball dreams. Seth Suer (Morinville) is coming off an appearance at the Prep Baseball West Coast Games, Ethan Pittman (Fort McMurray) traveled to the Arizona Fall Classic with the Brewers Scout Team, and Taye Thierman (Calgary) isn't done yet as he'll be joining the Baseball Canada Junior National Team at the Dominican Fall Instructional League Camp.
4:02 - Seth Suer
19:54 - Ethan Pittman
32:06 - Taye Thierman

Episode 302: WCBL Umpire of the Year Kris Hartley

They are an integral part of the game and sometimes umpires don't get the love they deserve. So when the Western Canadian Baseball League announced Kris Hartley was being named the Mitch Ball Memorial Award winner as Umpire of the Year, we knew we had to get him on the show. One thing most umpires have is stories to tell, and Hartley certainly has a few to share. We chat about his season and career highlights, what it meant to win the award, some of the trials and tribulations of being a sports official, and what the most gratifying part of the job is.

Episode 301: Matt "Tugboat" Wilkinson, Carter Beck & Tim Piasentin

Talk about a hard-hitting edition of the podcast! We catch up with a trio of players who had 2024 seasons to remember, starting with Dawgs Academy and Okotoks Dawgs alum Matt Wilkinson, who had an incredible first professional year split between Single-A and High-A in the Cleveland Guardians system. Then we catch up with Western Canadian Baseball League Rookie of the Year and Top Canadian Carter Beck of the Saskatoon Berries. And we wrap things up with Dawgs Academy product and Canadian Futures Showcase Home Run Derby champion Tim Piasentin.
3:24 - Matt Wilkinson
16:08 - Carter Beck
29:54 - Tim Piasentin

Episode 300: Quincy Jenkins, Cohen Miller & Merek Yeager

First off, THANK YOU for all your support as we mark our 300th episode of the show! Whether it's your first or your 300th listen, we truly appreciate you taking the time each week since Oct. 2018. As always, we check in on the big news of the past week then we're joined by a trio of guests from the Canadian Futures Showcase. We'll hear from Dawgs Academy speedster Quincy Jenkins, Webber Academy slugger Cohen Miller and Saskatoon Berries Academy hurler Merek Yeager about their respective journeys in the game of baseball.
7:58 - Quincy Jenkins
20:59 - Cohen Miller
36:23 - Merek Yeager

Episode 299: Taylor Burns, Clayton Keyes & Max Poirier

What a few weeks it's been for Edmonton's Erik Sabrowski. The Absolute Human Performance alum continues to be a big piece of the Cleveland Guardians bullpen after getting called up at the end of August. We catch up with AHP founder Taylor Burns to talk about Sabrowski's journey and how Guardians games are now "can't miss TV" at their headquarters. We then catch up with Dawgs Academy alum Clayton Keyes, who has had a challenging couple of years after helping Southwestern win the NAIA championship in 2022. He made his pro debut this summer after a lengthy wait for a work visa. Then we head to the Canadian Futures Showcase to chat with Dawgs product and Junior National Team pitcher Max Poirier to talk about his journey from Saskatchewan to BC to Alberta.
5:58 - Taylor Burns
23:06 - Clayton Keyes
38:50 - Max Poirier

Episode 298: Landon Kauffman, Langdyn Cummins, Trentin Kooy & Miguel Tetreault

As the baseball season winds down this fall, we take a look at some of the big highlights of a busy week, then look ahead to the upcoming Canadian Futures Showcase in Toronto with four athletes who will be looking to make an impression. Hear from Dawgs Academy product Landon Kauffman (Vancouver), Vauxhall Academy outfielder Langdyn Cummins (Taber), Going Yard Goats outfielder Trentin Kooy (Saskatoon) and AHP Academy shortstop Miguel Tetreault (Fort McMurray).
4:53 - Landon Kauffman
23:44 - Langdyn Cummins
27:51 - Trentin Kooy
33:47 - Miguel Tetreault

Episode 297: Matt Stairs

We start off the episode by recapping the MLB debut of St. Albert's own Erik Sabrowski, who went 1+ inning of shutout baseball in relief for the Cleveland Guardians in a 4-1 loss to Kansas City. We then take a look at some of the other major storylines, before we catch up with former MLB slugger and Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame member Matt Stairs, who was recently named a hitting coordinator with Dawgs Academy in Okotoks.

Episode 296: Jake Brooks, Claire Hingley & Tylor Jans

It was another crazy week for baseball in Alberta, highlighted by Erik Sabrowski being called up by the Cleveland Guardians. We recap the week in news, then are joined by Baseball Canada 18U National champion Jake Brooks of the Red Deer CarStar Braves, 16U Girls National silver medalist Claire Hingley and Edmonton Riverhawks veteran Tylor Jans to talk about their summers and more.
4:56 - Jake Brooks
21:08 - Claire Hingley
33:59 - Tylor Jans

Episode 295: Medicine Hat Little League Mavs, Baseball Alberta 14U Champs & Dom Morgan

We have seen some outstanding performances from Alberta teams in recent weeks, so we thought it'd be a good time to catch up with a few of them. This week, you'll hear from Medicine Hat Major Mavs coaches Steve Russell and Aaron Lybbert as they look back at the team's outstanding performance at the Canadian Little League Championships, where they finished one win away from going to Williamsport. We also sit down with Baseball Alberta 14U Girls coach Geoff Hall after that team won Western Regional gold for a third year in a row. And we get to know AHP Academy product Dom Morgan (St. Albert) as he just came back from a trip with the Baseball Canada Junior National Team and will soon be heading to the Canadian Futures Showcase.
4:56 - Steve Russel and Aaron Lybbert
23:06 - Geoff Hall
35:34 - Dom Morgan

Episode 294: Dawgs Repeat the Three-Peat

For the eighth time in team history and the third-straight season, the Okotoks Dawgs are Western Canadian Baseball League champions. After outlasting the Lethbridge Bulls and Sylvan Lake Gulls in the first round of the playoffs, they battled through a classic best-of-three series with the Moose Jaw Miller Express, winning game three 6-5 thanks to a walk-off solo home run from local product Connor Crowson. We take a look back at the series, then feature a series of interviews heard in Seaman Stadium and on the HomeTeam Live broadcast, including players and coaches for both teams as well as league president Kevin Kvame.