Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast

Episode 312: The 2024 Season Finale

It's hard to believe that we are putting the wraps on yet another season of #ADSPodcast. Thank YOU for checking us out, whether it was one episode or all 50+ this season. Our Ian Wilson stops by for a recap of the recent Western Canadian Baseball League Annual General Meeting, then we hear from Saskatoon Berries president Steve Hildebrand and new Swift Current 57s president Jamie LeBlanc. Then Ian returns as we look back at our favourite stories of 2024 and what's exciting us heading into 2025. 
3:38 - Ian Wilson on WCBL AGM
18:04 - Steve Hildebrand
26:02 - Jamie LeBlanc
32:27 - Ian Wilson on 2024 highlights and 2025 look-ahead

Episode 311: ADS/SDS All-College Teams w/ Connor Crowson, Tom Poole & Payton McHarg

It's a big day with a new show and brand new stories on both of our websites to celebrate the unveiling of the fifth annual ADS All-College Team and the first annual SDS All-College Team. After the news headlines, we look quickly at each of the rosters, then are joined by Connor Crowson (Okotoks) of the University of Montevallo, Tom Poole (Calgary) of Dallas Baptist University and Payton McHarg (Saskatoon) of Washburn University.
3:28 - Connor Crowson
16:20 - Tom Poole
30:11 - Payton McHarg

Episode 310: Baseball Alberta Awards w/ Danielle Moffat, Luke Schmitt & Kaitlyn Ross

Awards season in baseball around Alberta rolled into high gear recently with a pair of major galas last weekend. We looked back at the Little League Alberta event earlier this week, and now we head to the Baseball Alberta festivities in Edmonton. We start things off with executive director Danielle Moffat, who says it was another banner year for baseball in the province. Then we get to know Baseball Alberta Elite League Player of the Year Luke Schmitt and catch up with Women's Open Player of the Year Kaitlyn Ross.
3:17 - Danielle Moffat
17:13 - Luke Schmitt
32:15 - Kaitlyn Ross

Episode 309: Little League Alberta Awards Banquet w/ Kevin Kvame & Katie Reyes

It's awards season in Alberta's baseball world with two major events held this past weekend by Baseball Alberta and Little League Alberta. We will wrap-up the Baseball Alberta awards later this week, but we open things up with the Little League Alberta awards. Our Joe McFarland hosted a session on traditional and social media before serving as emcee for the banquet. After it was all over, he sat down for a "state of the union" with president Kevin Kvame then continued his fireside chat with former Little League World Series competitor and current Vancouver Canadians athletic therapist Katie Reyes.
1:27 - Kevin Kvame
12:15 - Katie Reyes

Episode 308: Tristan Peters & Tyler Herron

We open up the show with a look at the news headlines, including Joe's pick for the new Edmonton Prospects name, which you can enter their contest here. Then he chats with a pair of Tampa Bay Rays prospects: Dawgs Academy and Okotoks Dawgs alum Tristan Peters and Grande Prairie Minor Baseball and St. Albert Minor Baseball alum Tyler Herron.
5:06 - Tristan Peters
22:21 - Tyler Herron

Episode 307: Erik Sabrowski

Erik Sabrowski really needs no introduction. The Edmonton native's journey to the majors has been well-documented, and we’ve been lucky enough to follow him for quite some time. This year, it went to another level as he got the call-up to the big leagues, became a big piece of the Cleveland Guardians bullpen during their run to the playoffs, and made some impressive appearances in the ALDS and ALCS. The St. Albert Minor Baseball, Absolute Human Performance and Edmonton Prospects alum is back home now and received a hero’s welcome in Edmonton, including getting to see his beloved Oilers play a few games and even being part of Wednesday’s Sportsnet broadcast with Gene Principe. It’s been a big year and it’ll get even bigger for the 27-year-old as he’s set to get married in just a few days. We talked about it all in this fantastic conversation. 

Episode 306: WCBL Rural Roots + Update on Spruce Grove

News from the baseball world is slowing down a bit, but we still have a few things to pass along. Then we go a little deeper into last week's unveiling of the 2025 Western Canadian Baseball League schedule. Joe explains why he loves the idea of the WCBL Rural Roots Game, then sits down with Pat Cassidy of the Edmonton Prospects to talk about the latest on the new Myshak Metro Ballpark in Spruce Grove and an upcoming name change.

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