Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast

Episode 255: 2023 Baseball Alberta Awards

It was a celebration fit for every Alberta community from Acme to Youngstown and from border to border to border to border. Baseball Alberta held its annual general meeting and awards banquet last weekend in Edmonton to talk about the year that was, look ahead to the upcoming year, and of course, hand out some hardware. We sit down with 18U 'AAA' Players of the Year Matthew Murray and Corbin Lochhead, Women's Open Player of the Year Tyra Stanich, new Baseball Alberta Life Member Ron Van Keulen and Baseball Alberta executive director Danielle Moffat to recap the festivities.
2:28 - Matthew Murray
7:02 - Corbin Lochhead
12:33 - Tyra Stanich
18:19 - Ron Van Keulen
23:38 - Danielle Moffat

Episode 254: The Soroka Swap, Baseball Hall Ballots & Heartfelt Stories

What a week it was for Alberta's baseball scene, which started on the night our last episode dropped. For those who might have missed it, Calgary's Michael Soroka was involved in a blockbuster deal between the Atlanta Braves and Chicago White Sox. Our Ian Wilson stops by for some analysis and thoughts on the trade, as well as Alberta's connections to the latest National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum ballot, and his personal story of community and connection with Brooks Bombers slugger Eric Rataczak.

Episode 253: Joe Young

We recap what has been a busy couple of weeks on the local baseball scene, including Matt Lloyd being named Baseball Canada's Men's National Team Most Valuable Player, Fort McMurray being named hosts for more national tournaments, a local look at the Arizona Fall League and a multitude of college commitments. Then we get to our guest, and the mere mention of Joe Young brings back a lot of memories for baseball scouts and insiders from the early-1990s. The 6-foot-4, 210 pound righthander made life miserable for men’s league athletes in Fort McMurray when he was just 14. In 1991, he won gold with Canada at the World Youth Baseball Championships, a team that featured Jason Dickson and Stubby Clapp among others. Two years later, Young was drafted in the third round of the MLB Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays, embarking on a six-year pro career that included the 1993 and 1994 seasons with the Medicine Hat Blue Jays. He played with and against some of the best young talent who later went onto become MLB players including Chris Carpenter, Roy Halladay and Michael Young, before retiring, coming back to the St. Paul area, where he is still involved in baseball and hockey. We sat down earlier this week to talk about his journey, including a chance encounter with ball player and future Hockey Hall of Famer Jarome Iginla.

Episode 252: Levi Moon

It was only supposed to be a one-year deal to try playing baseball internationally. Yet, here we are, six years later, and Levi Moon is still traveling the world playing the game he loves. The Red Deer product has had a fascinating journey in the game, starting at home before becoming part of the first Badlands Academy team in Oyen. He went onto play at Niagara Community College, but injuries forced him to stay closer to home, finding a spot with Prairie Baseball Academy. It was on the advice of head coach Todd Hubka and some of his former teammates that he try his luck across the ocean. The former Moose Jaw Miller Express utilityman has now played baseball in Germany, Austria, Australia and has spent the past couple of seasons in Sweden. The 27-year-old has quite the story and has quite the stories to tell, from his dad Cam’s sports influence as a play-by-play announcer for the Red Deer Rebels and now the Edmonton Oilers, to becoming a bit of a travel junkie.

Episode 251: Harold Northcott

When you think baseball in Central Alberta, one family name is synonymous with the game: Northcott. And while he may too humble to admit it, Harold Northcott is an Alberta baseball legend. The Clive, Alberta native had a storied playing career which took him to Eastern Oregon University, where he helped the Mountaineers set team records for wins in each of his three seasons. That’s where he also earned the nickname “The Giant Killer” for becoming the first pitcher in school history to beat two games against big PAC-10 teams. Northcott went on to represent Canada on the international stage a number of times, including being named the most valuable Canadian at the 1985 Intercontinental Cup. He started his coaching career in 1988, helping guide numerous teams in St. Paul, Rocky Mountain House and elsewhere to provincial titles. He’s also served as the Canadian National Youth Team pitching coach in the 1990s, which featured names like Jordan Zimmermann, Ryan Dempster and Eric Gagne, then coached with the National Senior Team at the Pan Am Games amongst others. His wife, Barb, is heavily involved in the game, and all three of his kids – Dustin, Chad and Heidi – all blazed their own trails in baseball. Recently, a little birdy by the name of Brad Mills told us that his long-time friend was being inducted into the EOU Athletics Hall of Fame this month. As it turns out, the recognition was a long time coming, as was this great conversation I had with Harold Northcott last week.

Episode 250: Okotoks to host 2024 WCBL All-Star Game

Plenty of big news items coming out of the Western Canadian Baseball League this week, with the biggest being the announcement that Okotoks will host the 2024 All-Star Game. Our Ian Wilson caught up with WCBL president Kevin Kvame and managing director of corporate sponsors and marketing Mark Stiles to talk about the selection process, while Dawgs general manager Tyler Hollick and head coach Lou Pote discuss the ins and outs of putting together the mid-summer classic for a third-straight season.

Episode 249: Alberta’s Rise on the National Stage

It started as a simple question our Joe McFarland posted on Twitter/X shortly after Nathan Flewelling (Innisfail) picked up the Home Run Derby crown at the Canadian Futures Showcase and Simon Baker (Cochrane) at the Canadian Futures Showcase: does Alberta punch above its weight when it comes to baseball in Canada? It elicited a number of replies, DMs and texts, leading him write an opinion piece for our website and to expand on his thoughts on this episode of the podcast. We're also joined by long-time Canadian baseball coach and influencer John Milton, who provides some context to what he saw in Ontario and what he thinks needs to happen for Alberta to enter the conversation as a powerhouse in Canada.

Episode 248: Leo Cote, Ben Prediger and Josh Burgmann

Plenty of catching up to do on this week's episode and all three guests were fantastic. Hear from Dawgs Academy (via Quebec) product and Oregon State commit Leo Cote about his great summer, former Baseball Alberta Midget-AAA Player of the Year and Sylvan Lake Gulls catcher Ben Prediger and Vauxhall Academy/University of Washington alum and head scout/director of player personnel for the BCHL's Nanaimo Clippers Josh Burgmann.
2:55 - Leo Cote
22:38 - Ben Prediger
47:43 - Josh Burgmann

Episode 247: Reece Hemmerling, Charmayne Gervais & Stevyn Andrachick

Welcome to October and the start of the MLB playoff race, which is also an unofficial sign of the local scene starting to slow down. We chat about some of the headlines we're watching, then welcome a trio of athletes to the show. We hear from AHP Academy product Reece Hemmerling as he starts his sophomore season at Barton Community College, Baseball Alberta Women's Team bronze medalist Charmayne Gervais, and new Sacramento State University commit Stevyn Andrachick, who has had an interesting baseball journey from Montana to Vauxhall Academy.
3:11 - Reece Hemmerling
17:52 - Charmayne Gervais
33:06 - Stevyn Andrachick

Episode 246: Recapping the Canadian Futures Showcase & Reconnecting with Scott Gillespie

Alberta took centre stage at the annual Canadian Futures Showcase in Toronto, with Innisfail's Nathan Flewelling taking home the Home Derby crown while Cochrane's Simon Baker was named Showcase MVP. Reporter Zach Worden caught up with them both, then joins us to recap what was a big week of baseball at Rogers Centre. Then we sit down with Sherwood Park product and Prairie Baseball Academy alum Scott Gillespie, who is fresh off winning the Intercounty Baseball League title with the Welland Jackfish.
Click here to read more about Flewelling.
Click here to read more about Baker.
Make sure to check out our first chat with Gillespie on Episode #81 of Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast.

Episode 245: Oregon State visits Dawgs Academy in Okotoks

Playoff season is upon us and several Alberta-born and raised athletes have been able to raise trophies over their head. We recap those wins, then we head to Okotoks where Ian Wilson has spent most of the week chatting with those taking part in the Oregon State visit and camp at Dawgs Academy. He brings us a great conversation with Beavers head coach Mitch Canham as well as with players Travis Bazzana, Canon Reeder and Micah McDowell. Then he gets a surprise visit with Dawgs Academy and OSU alum Gavin Logan.
4:27 - Mitch Canham
27:47 - Travis Bazzana
39:36 - Canon Reeder
45:29 - Micah McDowell
56:20 - Gavin Logan

Episode 244: Brett Getz, Keenan Parker & Jordan Procyshen

While things might be slowing down a bit in Alberta, there is certainly no shortage of storylines we're following. We get you up-to-date on a number of fronts, before a trio of great interviews. We preview the upcoming Canadian Futures Showcase in Toronto with Vauxhall Academy product Brett Getz and St. Albert Minor Baseball Association standout Keenan Parker, then catch-up with Okotoks Dawgs program alum and current Round Rock Express catcher Jordan Procyshen to talk about his crazy year including two appearances with Baseball Canada and life as a dad.