Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast

Episode 168: Jason Chatwood

Jason Chatwood has seemingly become Mr. Baseball in Central Alberta. He’s the lead instructor and coach at St. Joseph High School Academy in Red Deer, he does some scouting with the Arizona Diamondbacks and he’s the head coach of the WCBL’s Sylvan Lake Gulls. Chatwood isn’t that far removed from playing the game either. Growing up in Innisfail, he played all over the province and even representing Alberta before a very successful college career at Colby Community College and then NCAA Division I Gonzaga University, which is where he got his first taste of coaching and mentoring. We recently sat down to talk about his baseball journey, the challenges of wearing so many different hats, and the importance of family, which starts with his wife, Heather, who was a softball standout and a member of Canada’s national team.

Episode 167: Taylor Burns

Taylor Burns might be the most-active social media presence in Alberta baseball circles. Not only known for his takes on his beloved Edmonton Oilers, Burns has been busy building the brands of Absolute Human Performance and AHP Academy, with videos of his athletes, as well as his own advice and takes on strength and conditioning. It’s become his passion as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, after spending years as an athlete himself. Burns had shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum after his junior season at university in 2011, but wasn’t able to pitch again until he went to the University of Central Missouri in 2016-2017. That time off allowed him to find some new passions, including coaching and mentoring in the Edmonton and St. Albert regions. We’ve long wanted to have Taylor on the podcast to talk about his journey, and felt like we were only scratching the surface in this candid conversation.

Episode 166: Black History Month - ”Cool Papa” Bell & Dick Brookins

February marks Black History Month, and over the last few weeks, we’ve had social media posts about past stories on legendary baseball players who broke the colour barrier in their own way, including Satchel Paige, John Donaldson, Leon Day, Jackie Robinson and Andre Dawson. We also introduced you to two new stories: one on Hall of Famer “Cool Papa” Bell, and another on Dick Brookins, whose final days in professional baseball came here in our province. For a little more insight into those stories and the research that went into them, we welcome ADS co-founder and writer Ian Wilson back to the podcast.

Episode 165: Chris Reitsma

He was the first Canadian to be selected in the first round of the Major League Baseball Draft, taken 34th overall by the Boston Red Sox in the 1996 Draft. Chris Reitsma went onto a seven-year MLB and 12-year pro career. Best-known for his time in Atlanta, where in 2004 he had 84 appearances as the set-up man to John Smoltz, Reitsma later groomed another young prospect, Mike Soroka, to be taken in the first round by the Braves in 2015. Giving back to the baseball community in his home province has become a point of pride for the now-44-year-old, as he is now serving as the Senior Director of Baseball Operations and Pitching Director with the Webber Academy Wildcats in Springbank, just west of Calgary. Reitsma recently took some time out of his busy schedule to talk about his entire baseball journey and what he’s hoping to build at Webber.

Episode 164: Luxon Glor

Luxon Glor has been named an All-American multiple times, he’s broken school and conference records at the University of Mary and has been named a conference athlete of the year. He did it all in track, despite originally wanting to do it all in baseball. The Haiti-born and Winnipeg-raised speedster was an accomplished multi-sport athlete when Les McTavish brought him into the Vauxhall Academy of Baseball, where he continued to shine during the 2014-2015 seasons. But an eye injury made the game he loved a little more difficult as headed to UMary, so he changed his focus, and ended up finding a new passion. Now, the 24-year-old is chasing an Olympic dream while also attending law school in New York. Glor has quite the story to tell, and he joined us recently to talk all about it.

Episode 163: Jim Henderson

It has been a meteoric rise up the coaching ranks for Calgary’s Jim Henderson. A 26th round draft pick of the Montreal Expos back in 2003, the hard-throwing right-hander spent 15 years in professional baseball. In 2012, he became the first Dawgs Academy product to make it into the major leagues and would go on to pitch in 155 games for the Milwaukee Brewers and New York Mets. The 6-5, 220-pound hurler finished out his playing career in 2018 with the Biloxi Shuckers in Double-A, where an injury allowed him to cut his teeth as a scout, then as a coach in the Pioneer League. He rose through the Brewers system, just as he did as a player, and just a few weeks ago, was named the bullpen coach for the MLB squad. We had the opportunity to catch up with him recently to talk about his entire journey, his roots back home and what his family has meant to him.

Episode 162: Alejo Lopez

Alejo Lopez made history last summer as being the first position player from Dawgs Academy in Okotoks to make it to the big leagues. The Mexico City native tore apart minor league pitching after being drafted by the Reds in 2015, earning a spot with the big club for 14 games in 2021, where he hit .261. But the 5'10", 170-pound infielder isn’t content with that. He wants more and is working towards that goal every day. Lopez took some time out of his busy schedule to sit down for a candid conversation with us, to talk about his baseball journey, coming to Alberta and his hopes and dreams.

2022 Podcast Season Announcement

It's the news many of you have been waiting for! The new season of Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast will begin...
Sorry, you'll have to listen to find out when it will start and who the first guest will be!

Episode 161: 2021 Year in Review

That's it. That's all. See ya later, 2021! It was definitely a time. We have now arrived at the season finale of Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast. It's a chance for us to reminisce about the last 12 months and look ahead at what the next 12 might have in store. Co-founders Ian Wilson and Joe McFarland chat about their memories of the last year, favourite stories to tell, and give a sneak-peek into what's coming in 2022.

Episode 160: Keith Comstock

Keith Comstock was a fifth round pick of the California Angels back in 1976. He went onto spend 16 years in pro baseball, including six in the majors. Near the end of that journey, he pitched in 20 games for the Pacific Coast League’s Calgary Cannons in 1989 and 1991. Comstock might be best remembered for an infamous ProCards baseball card when he was with the Las Vegas Stars in 1989. ESPN called it the “funniest baseball card ever made." Nowadays, Comstock is a coach, working with the Texas Rangers as their rehab pitching coordinator. Our Ian Wilson was able to track him down and had this candid conversation about his journey in baseball, which included an earlier stop in Central Alberta.

Episode 159: Ethan Elias

Many coaches and mentors in Alberta's baseball community, including Ethan Elias, believe that success breeds success. After being drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 2011 and spending seven years in professional baseball as a player, he turned his attention to coaching in the Edmonton area. After spending time with the Edmonton Collegiate Baseball Club of the CCBC, Elias has joined AHP Academy as a co-head coach and associate pitching coordinator, and is slated to be the pitching coach for the expansion Edmonton Riverhawks of the West Coast League. We chatted about his entire baseball journey and some of his coaching beliefs in this conversation from late last week.

Episode 158: Mike Frostad

Calling the last few weeks a "whirlwind" might be an understatement for Mike Frostad. It started with unexpected playoff run by his Atlanta Braves that culminated with a World Series victory over the Houston Astros. Then came the aftermath and celebrations before everyone parted ways for the winter. Frostad not only headed back home to Alberta, but he announced he had been courted by the Los Angeles Angels to become their new director of sports medicine and head athletic trainer. We caught up with him after he spoke at the Coaching Teaching Leadership Conference in Calgary last weekend to talk about the World Series, working with Mike Soroka on his injuries, the changing landscape of being a trainer since he was with the Medicine Hat Blue Jays in the 1990's, and what his wife's support has meant to him in his journey.