Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast

Episode 157: Celebrating Jimmy Rattlesnake

In an era where fans packed ballparks by the thousands to watch games and tournaments, Jimmy Rattlesnake was a headliner. His reputation was second-to-none, and his accomplishments have been recognized in many ways. There is no higher honour in this country than to be named to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, and earlier this week, the pride of the Ermineskin Cree Nation took his place in the hall as part of the Class of 2021. We had the honour and opportunity to talk about the induction with Jimmy's daughter, Phyllis, and grandson, Oren. We're also joined by ADS co-founder Ian Wilson, who wrote an in-depth story about Rattlesnake's on-field accomplishments.

Episode 156: Greg Morrison

Greg Morrison has seen baseball in Medicine Hat from almost every angle imaginable. From a young player in the American Legion to winning a Pioneer League Triple Crown with the Baby Jays in 1997 to coaching the Western Canadian Baseball League Mavericks before becoming owner and general manager in 2009, Morrison is using his experiences to help young ball players at the grassroots level around the community. Even during the last two years of the Mavericks not being able to play, he’s been doing everything he can to keep that connection strong heading into 2022 and beyond. We’ve wanted to have Morrison visit us on the podcast for a while now, as his journey is certainly a fascinating one. And the opportunity was right earlier this week to talk about how it all began, his pro playing career and what it means to him now, being able to give back to the baseball community in Medicine Hat.

Episode 155: Dane Tofteland

Dane Tofteland has had quite the adventurous last few years in baseball. After setting records despite several injuries in his time with Indiana State University, he helped the Okotoks Dawgs capture the 2019 WCBL championship. The 2020 summer season was turfed with the pandemic, which allowed him to spend time at his family's farm near Grande Prairie. The Dawgs Academy grad then started the 2021 season with Quebec of the Frontier League before moving to the Welland Jackfish of the Intercounty Baseball League. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound slugger turned a lot of heads, hitting .417 with eight home runs, 36 runs batted in and 19 stolen bases in 30 games. We caught up with him recently to talk about his journey, this last summer, and the dream of turning pro.

Episode 154: Jordan Procyshen

Jordan Procyshen admits the last few years have been nothing short of a rollercoaster ride. The Calgary product was a 14th round pick of the Boston Red Sox in 2014, and after a few years in their farm system, was sent on a whirlwind including the Los Angeles Dodgers, independent baseball, Baseball Canada and this past season with the Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. While he's been chasing his dream of reaching the majors, the Dawgs Academy and Okotoks Dawgs product met his wife and they are also now expecting their first child in a few weeks. We caught up this week to talk about everything on and off the field.

Episode 153: ”Going The Distance” Author Willie Steele

With the baseball season coming to an end here in Alberta, we thought we’d switch things up on this episode to bring on someone we’ve wanted to chat with for a while. Willie Steele is the author of “Going the Distance: The Life and Works of W.P. Kinsella". Released in 2019, it’s the biography of the Alberta-born scribe most famous for the novel “Shoeless Joe.” Kinsella was born and raised in the Edmonton area and also spent time at the University of Calgary among his many travels. Steele has been a big supporter of us, sharing our stories and even writing one of his own for us on his experience at the Field of Dreams game this season.

Episode 152: Carson Hindmarsh

Much like our last few podcast guests, Carson Hindmarsh has had himself a busy summer. Aside from starring with the Okotoks Dawgs Black during the WCBL season, the 17-year-old Saskatoon native found himself playing with Baseball Canada's Junior National Team at the 18U Friendship Series in Florida. His season isn't over either as he's planning on another trip with the national team soon, and big things are on the horizon for the 6'3", 180-pound southpaw as he's committed to the University of Tennessee. We talked about all of that and so much more earlier this week.

Episode 151: Matt Grabmann

Matt Grabmann has become a world traveler in his short baseball career. Just this summer, he went from Dawgs Black in the Western Canadian Baseball League to Baseball Canada's Junior National Team to the Baseball Factory All-America Game, where he drew plenty of praise and was touching 95 miles per hour on the radar gun. The right-hander from Nova Scotia is a Dawgs Academy product who has also committed to joining the NCAA Division I University of Oregon to continue his baseball journey. We caught up with him earlier this week to talk about all of his travels and his future plans.

Episode 150: Boston Warkentin

Boston Warkentin was among a handful of Okotoks Dawgs players recently named to Baseball Canada's Junior National Team which took on the US in a best-of-seven Friendship Series. He pitched in ten games for Dawgs Black this summer before being summoned to the national team, where he impressed every time he stepped on the bump. Originally from Delta, BC, the 18-year-old righthander came through Dawgs Academy, where he’s elevated his game to being listed by the Canadian Baseball Network as the 11th best Canadian prospect for the 2022 MLB Draft. He’s also committed to the University of Washington, another Division 1 powerhouse. We talked about it all with Boston  in a phone chat last week.

Episode 149: Max Hartman

Many athletes dream of the day they are able to represent their country on the world stage. St. Albert's Max Hartman was able to do that recently when he was named to Baseball Canada's Junior National Team that was heading to Florida for the 18U Friendship Series against the United States. The Washington State University commit joins us this week to talk about his baseball journey, which includes Dawgs Academy, Tournament-12 in Toronto and this past summer with Okotoks Dawgs Black.

Episode 148: Cody Hendriks

Cody Hendriks has certainly seen his share of baseball stadiums, airports, and quarantines over the past year. But traveling is nothing new for the 17-year-old, who is originally from the Netherlands. His family moved to Coquitlam, BC when he was 10, then a few years later, he came west to Dawgs Academy in Okotoks. Being from Netherlands meant he was eligible for their U18 team at the European Championship in early-July, where he helped his country take home the gold medal. He then came back to his home away from home to play with Okotoks Dawgs Black, and is now at school with the NCAA Division I California State University-Bakersfield.

Episode 147: Helaina Appleyard & Hayley Lalor

Fresh off their trip to Quebec for the Baseball Canada Women's National Team showcase, Helaina Appleyard and Hayley Lalor join us on this week's episode of the podcast. They were among four Albertans named to the roster (Madison Willan and Ellie Jespersen were the others), taking part in everything from fitness and baseball drills to practices and intrasquad games. Appleyard has been on Baseball Canada's roster for a while, turning many heads during the 2019 national tournament in Okotoks, while Lalor was also a key piece to Alberta's success in that event. And as we hear in this episode, both have strong family ties to the game.

Episode 146: Lethbridge Bulls Capture WCBL Championship

For the first time since 2015, the Lethbridge Bulls have captured the Western Canadian Baseball League title. It was quite the ride for the Bulls, who finished the regular season on a six-game losing streak, including the final four to the Sylvan Lake Gulls, who they met in the semi-finals. They would go on to sweep the Gulls and the Edmonton Prospects. We recap the run and are joined by WCBL Playoff MVP Bryce Oriold-Fraser and catcher Noah Or in our latest episode of the podcast. Big thanks to @YQLSports for the team photo we're using as our cover art for this episode.