Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast

Episode 223: Carter Claerhout

While we didn’t actually get a chance to meet at the Prairie Baseball Academy annual banquet earlier this year, it was hard not to notice Carter Claerhout. The 6-foot, 235-pound Red Deer product isn’t just a physical presence, but seems to almost always be smiling. And if he knew at the time just how good he’d be this spring, that smile would probably be even bigger. After flirting with .600 for the better part of the first half, the first baseman has settled in at .483 with three homers and 19 RBI in 20 games to lead the entire Canadian College Baseball Conference in each category. It’s a fantastic follow-up to his 2022 season, where he hit .356 with seven dingers and 45 RBI in 32 games. But PBA fell short of winning the league last year, and that’s ultimately what is fueling the Southern Arkansas University commit, who joined us for a great chat a couple of weeks ago. A special thanks as well to Cindy Adachi for sharing her photos of Carter for our podcast use.

Episode 222: ”Lucy Tries Baseball”

We’ve had authors on the show before, but none quite like Lisa Bowes. The well-known broadcaster spent many years at TSN as well as CTV Calgary. A few years ago, she used her journalistic chops to start writing children’s books. The series, entitled “Lucy Tries” and illustrated by James Hearne, follows Lucy on her sports adventures. The first five books saw Lucy try luge, short track, soccer, hockey and basketball. The sixth book, “Lucy Tries Baseball,” hit store shelves earlier this month, and isn’t meant just to shine a light on the sports, but to inspire kids to get active as well. To mark the book’s release, I had a great chat with Lisa via Zoom recently to talk about what inspired her to write the book, how she approaches the writing process, and the importance of inclusion in sport.

Episode 221: Alberta Girls Baseball League

Buzz is starting to grow around the newest addition to the Baseball Alberta fleet of offerings. 2023 will be the pilot season for the new Alberta Girls Baseball League. It will feature three associations: the Beaumont Minor Baseball Association, Edson Prospects Baseball and the Rocky and District Baseball Association. All three took part in the Spruce Grove Girl’s Baseball Tournament in 2022, and were all keen to grow it into a league. Not only do they hope to grow the game and grow as a league with more teams in the future, but also help keep girls in the game longer to become more of a pipeline for future provincial and national teams. We sat down for a great chat with Baseball Alberta Girls/Womens Director Barb Northcott recently, to talk about the league, the potential, and the hope to also change the conversation about girls and baseball.

Episode 220: Kyle Bloor

One could argue that Kyle Bloor has seen everything baseball can show you in a really short amount of time. Growing up mainly as a catcher, he got to represent Alberta and Canada on a number of occasions, spending time with various teams between Lethbridge and Calgary. At 16, he randomly ended up having to go through Tommy John surgery, and wasn’t even sure he’d be able to play college baseball until he was recruited by Colby Community College. The former Lethbridge Bulls hurler's numbers weren’t eye-popping, but he kept on working, and ended up getting an offer to head to the Tennessee Wesleyan University Bulldogs, where he’s been lights-out this year, going 2-0 with six saves and a 3.38 ERA in 13 appearances. Bloor joined us for a candid conversation a couple of weeks ago to talk about his journey, and what he hopes young kids can take away from his wild ride.

Episode 219: Jonathan Hodgson

If you’ve been to a baseball game in Western Canada over the last 15 or 20 years, especially in Okotoks, you’ve probably seen Jonathan Hodgson around. Growing up in Calgary, he remembers going to Calgary Cannons games, then being gutted when they left in 2002. He immediately attached himself to the new Western Major Baseball League team, the Calgary Dawgs, and in his wheelchair, followed them to Okotoks a few years later, where he transitioned from fan to broadcaster, writer and media relations guru for a few years. Hodgson’s journey in baseball has also included working with the Canadian Baseball Network, the Toronto Blue Jays and Victoria Harbourcats. However, home is still at Seaman Stadium with the Dawgs. We sat down recently for a candid conversation about his love of the game, the amazing connections he’s made along the way, and the special sense of belonging he’s received being in the baseball community.

Episode 218: Saskatoon Returns to the WCBL

It’s been nearly ten years since the Saskatoon Yellow Jackets folded, citing horrible attendance and financial losses. Since then, tires have been kicked and efforts have been made to bring Saskatchewan’s largest city back into the Western Canadian Baseball League, but to no avail. At least - not until Wednesday when the league was finally able to announce that the Saskatoon Entertainment Group, which owns and operates the Western Hockey League’s Saskatoon Blades and National Lacrosse League’s Saskatchewan Rush, had the perfect plan and proposal, and will be joining the WCBL for the 2024 season. We sit down from SEG's Steve Hildebrand and Tyler Wawryk about the announcement, as well as WCBL president Kevin Kvame, who hints at some more future expansion around the league.

Episode 217: CCBC Preview Spectacular

The snow has started to thaw and we’re finally starting to see some local diamonds clearing up for the sweet sounds of the game we love. Among the first teams to hit field will be those in the Canadian College Baseball Conference, including the Prairie Baseball Academy Dawgs, University of Calgary Dinos and Edmonton Collegiate Hawks. Opening weekend is this weekend, and to get you set for the season, we’ve published the league’s preview stories on our website, and we have a jam-packed episode this week as we welcome coaches Todd Hubka, Cam Williams and Jake Lanferman back to talk about the season and the expectations they have for their respective teams.

Episode 216: Ricky Sanchez

He might not be the biggest player on the field, but pound-for-pound, Ricky Sanchez might have the biggest impact on any baseball team he’s ever been on. The 5-foot-8, 170-pound infielder quickly became a sparkplug with Dawgs Academy after moving to Alberta from Mexico City in high school, following his brother Eddie as well as former Dawg and current Cincinnati Reds infielder Alejo Lopez. His performance earned him a spot with the Barton College Cougars, where in 2022, he hit a blistering .442 with nine homers, 90 RBI and 27 stolen bases in 59 games. Sanchez followed that up by hitting .342 with two homers, 39 RBI and 12 stolen bases in 52 games for the WCBL’s Dawgs, helping them win a championship while he was named the league’s MVP. We caught up with Sanchez just before the college season got rolling to talk about what he plans to do for an encore in 2023, committing to Lamar University to continue his post-secondary career, and the importance of family. You can also read our latest story on Sanchez here.

Episode 215: Vauxhall Academy of Baseball Banquet

Banquet season continues around our province as communities gather to celebrate the successes of their respective programs. This past weekend, our Ian Wilson traveled south to take in the Vauxhall Academy of Baseball's annual fundraising event. During the course of the evening, he sat down with Reno Lizzi Memorial Award winner Cardel Dick, Wall of Excellence inductee and long-time board president Todd Ojala, and guest speaker and former Toronto Blue Jays hurler Ricky Romero. To get a full account of the evening, you can read Ian's story here.

Episode 214: ”Tales from the Dugout: 1,001 Humorous, Inspirational & Wild Anecdotes from Minor League Baseball”

Tim Hagerty is a baseball broadcaster with the El Paso Chihuahuas, the triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres, having called professional games since 2004. The Massachusetts native is also an author, with freelance work featured in the Sporting News, The Hardball Times and more. Hagerty has also written two baseball books. The first was “Root for the Home Team: Minor League Baseball’s Most Off-The-Wall Team Names and the Stories Behind Them.” He’s now out with a second book, “Tales From The Dugout: 1,001 Humorous, Inspirational & Wild Anecdotes from Minor League Baseball.” And yes, there are stories from here in Alberta, including Calgary, Edmonton, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, and, interestingly enough, Bassano. Our Ian Wilson caught up with Hagerty recently to talk about his career, the book and some of the connections to our province.

Episode 213: Brady Kobitowich

The US college baseball season is here! To celebrate, we thought we’d start reaching out to some of those athletes who are looking to make a name for themselves, and we start things off this week with Edmonton’s Brady Kobitowich. He’s one of a handful of Canadian players who are calling Niagara University home this spring, including some familiar names here in Alberta like Okotoks Dawgs product Cole Tucker, Sylvan Lake Gulls hurler Steven Hospital, Airdrie’s Evan Wilde and St. Albert’s Mike Brisson. Kobitowich made the jump to the Purple Eagles from Cloud County, which has a pretty storied history of Canadian and Alberta content of its own. The 6-1, 190-pound Kobitowich is aiming to be the utilityman for coach Rob McCoy, willing to pitch in any situation. We sat down prior to the season to chat all things baseball, a little hockey, and returning to the Edmonton Riverhawks this summer.

Episode 212: Jackson Sherren

We love stories of second chances and resilience through tough times. For Jackson Sherren, his story involves more than both of those. The Cornwall, PEI product was recruited to join Dawgs Academy back in 2018. He was expected to head west the following year, but was set back by an ACL tear. He arrived for a short time in 2020, only to be turned around as the world grinded to a halt in the face of a pandemic. Sherren thought he was good to go that fall, only to tear his ACL a second time. After missing three full years of baseball and dealing with the physical and mental challenges of rehab, the hard-throwing righthander made his triumphant return to Okotoks in 2022, helping the 18U Black team win several tournaments as it was named one of the top programs in North America. It’s one thing to hear the Cole’s Notes as I just gave you, but it’s another to hear it straight from the 18-year-old’s mouth. So here is our candid conversation with Jackson Sherren.