Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast

Episode 98: Tara Sliwkanich

In the first of what we hope to be several conversations branching off Baseball Alberta's Girls Day virtual chats, we sit down with Baseball Canada alum Tara Sliwkanich. The Fort Saskatchewan native has been involved in the game for 17+ years, suiting up for many teams including two national championship winning teams for Alberta as well as the National Women's Team for several occasions including the 2012 World Cup of Women's Baseball in Edmonton. Today, she's a policy analyst for the Alberta government. We talked about her journey in baseball and much more in this episode of Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast.

Episode 97: Lou Pote

Lou Pote has seen it all. From the college ranks to Major League Baseball and now to coaching with Dawgs Academy, Pote has many stories to tell. One of them includes an encounter with former Calgary Cannons star Edgar Martinez in 2001 that led to a brawl with the mild-mannered Hall of Famer. This was the focal point for one of our most-popular stories for the month of June, so we thought we would bring it to you in audio form for this edition of Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast. Pote also talked to our Ian Wilson about his time with the Edmonton Trappers, Cracker-Cats and Capitals, and about seeing his kids grow up with athletic dreams.

Episode 96: Willy Diaz & Kyler Charchun

It has been a busy few weeks for a couple of Alberta baseball products as they've taken steps to continue their baseball journeys. Last week, it was announced the Minnesota Twins had signed Prairie Baseball Academy's Willy Diaz (Edmonton) to a contract. Meantime, Prospects Academy grad Kyler Charchun (Camrose) was able to sign on the dotted line to continue his education with Southwest Baptist University after a successful stint with Cloud County College. We talked to them both about their respective paths in baseball and what's to come in the not-too-distant future.

Episode 95: Retro Swag

It’s been tough not being able to talk about live baseball over the last couple of months  and watching the MLB situation unfold has been frustrating to say the least. However, it has provided an opportunity for us to go back into the history books and talk about the days of affiliated baseball in this province. For some fans, they have taken it a step further by seeking out caps and shirts of their favourite teams of yesteryear. In this episode of the podcast, we chat with the founders of C of Dead and Ross Flats Apparel to hear their origin stories and to reminisce about the days of the Calgary Cannons and Edmonton Trappers.

Episode 94: Black Lives Matter

It’s hard to put into words what we are experiencing in the world right now. The death of George Floyd and the subsequent rallies and protests have sparked a movement many in our generation have never seen. While some might think we don’t need to go down this path, we feel silence isn’t the way to go either. It’s a conversation that is happening in every facet of our lives and this sport is no exception, especially as you watch many athletes coming forward with their own stories. Dawgs Academy products LaRon Smith (Spruce Grove) and Jose Nunez (Chestermere) share their own experiences with racism and what the current world's events mean to them.

Episode 93: The Future of RE/MAX Field

Over the last few weeks and, frankly, the last couple of years, a lot of questions have been raised about RE/MAX Field in Edmonton. From rumours of affiliated baseball returning to the provincial capital, to stories being told through different media outlets, many are trying to wrap their heads around what is happening. In hopes of answering those questions, we chat with Edmonton Prospects owner Pat Cassidy about the plan to move to Spruce Grove for the 2022 season after failed attempts to get a new lease signed with the City of Edmonton. One of the people behind the group that did sign a long-term lease, Dr. Randy Gregg, also joins us to talk about his vision and when he plans to approach the Western Canadian Baseball League to get not only a franchise, but to also have the Prospects lift their regional rights to the capital area.

Episode 92: WCBL Season Swiped

"So you're saying there's a chance" was a saying muttered a few times over the last few weeks as the Western Canadian Baseball League pondered what to do this summer in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. After agreeing to postpone the start of the season a few weeks ago, the league's teams gathered again on May 27th to discuss what should happen to the season. Unfortunately, like many other summer events, the WCBL agreed unanimously to cancel the 2020 campaign. “This difficult decision was based on our number one concern, the health and safety needs of all involved,” said league president Kevin Kvame. He joined us after the meeting to discuss the decision, where to go from here, the ongoing situation in Edmonton and we also got a brief update on the Canadian College Baseball Conference.

Episode 91: Baseball Alberta's Tam Rosnau

Earlier this year, Baseball Alberta announced Darren Dekinder was retiring after a ten-year run as executive director. The long-time coach and umpire was applauded widely for his contributions to the game, including overseeing a massive growth in the sport in this province over the last few years. However, it left a major hole at the top of the organization.
Enter: Tam Rosnau. She has an impressive resume, working in sport on a variety of levels. She’s also very familiar with Baseball Alberta, having served as a program coordinator over the couple of years. And talk about getting thrown right into the fire. With the COVID-19 pandemic hanging over everyone’s head, it’s been a game of wait-and-see from a health and safety perspective, which is tough when you’re hoping to plan ahead for a summer on the baseball diamond. We talked about that and much more in this conversation from last week.

Episode 90: Fort Mac Attack

Some exciting news for our province, courtesy of Baseball Canada, late last week. With the cancellation of the 2020 national championships at all levels, attention has now been turned to planning events for future years. And the national body announced the border city, Lloydminster, will host the 13U National Westerns in 2021, while Red Deer will get the men’s nationals and Fort McMurray gets the 18U national championships. Fort Mac will get that same tournament again in 2022 and then the Baseball Canada Cup in 2023. One of the people behind the efforts has been Fort McMurray Minor Baseball Association president Kevin Breen, who joins us as our first guest this week to talk about what went into it, but also the growth of the game in the northern Alberta city. We also check in with one of the Fort McMurray products who has taken his talents stateside. Max Poole has spent the past couple of years pitching for the Mars Hill University Lions. 

Episode 89: Letters of Intent

Despite the wait we’ve all endured to get back onto the ball field, there has been some wonderful news in the baseball world in Alberta over the last few weeks. Several young ballplayers have signed letters of intent to head south of the border to continue playing the game they love at the college level. We sit down to chat with Tyrese Johnson (Dawgs Academy), Maddux Mateychuk (Vauxhall Academy) and Tylor Jans (Prospects Academy) about signing their respective journeys in baseball and where they are heading to next.

Episode 88: WCBL Season Update

There have been a lot of questions surrounding the upcoming summer baseball season in Alberta, across this country and around the world. Will it happen? Can we have a shortened campaign? How willing are players and fans to take part? The Western Canadian Baseball League's board of governors met on Wednesday night to discuss the next steps as we get closer to the originally-scheduled start of the season. We chatted with WCBL president Kevin Kvame about what was decided, as well as what might be in the cards for the Canadian College Baseball Conference and Little League in southern Alberta.

Episode 87: Cannons Retrospective Part 2

Do you remember where you were 35 years ago? Many baseball fans in Calgary will remember their first exposure to the Pacific Coast League Cannons. The Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners had many future Major League Baseball players on the roster when they hit the field. We chatted with Harold Reynolds, Pat Casey and Darnell Coles about their time in our province and what it was like to arrive here for the home opener, only to be welcomed by snow and cold, delaying the contest for a few days. You can also read more about the Cannons' arrival in our new retrospective story here.