Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast

Episode 107: Lethbridge Dodgers Manager Gail Henley

September is a big month on our calendar for "On This Date" events. As the summer winds down, regular seasons come to an end, leaving behind playoffs and championship runs. We have highlighted a number of those on social media, but wanted to bring one of the stories to life for the podcast. The Lethbridge Dodgers were a powerhouse in the late-70's and early-80's, capturing Pioneer League titles in 1977, 1979 and 1980. It's no small feat when you consider the high turnover of players the rookie leagues see. The one common denominator during those three seasons in Lethbridge was manager Gail Henley. The Los Angeles Dodgers' director of minor league development led Lethbridge to a 173-105 record in his four seasons (1977, 1979, 1980 and 1983). We chatted with Henley, who is approaching 92 years of age, about his memories of the province and what he's most proud of when he looks back on his life in baseball.

Episode 106: Plans Unveiled For RE/MAX Field

It was back on Episode #93 when we tried to get to the bottom of the situation around RE/MAX Field in Edmonton. We had both Edmonton Prospects owner Pat Cassidy and Baseball Edmonton Inc managing director Dr. Randy Gregg on after the latter signed a ten-year lease with the city. It left the Prospects homeless, but not for long as they released plans to move to Spruce Grove for 2022. But there was a cloud of uncertainty around what Gregg’s group had in mind. Then came Tuesday, with the announcement that the West Coast League was coming to the province for the first time with the new Edmonton Riverhawks. We thought we’d do things a little differently on the podcast this week and do a deep dive on what this all means for the capital region with our own Ian Wilson.

Episode 105: Bennett Freiter & Ty Wevers

There have been a number of Alberta baseball products who have announced commitments to post-secondary schools over the last few months. In an effort to catch up on some of their news, we thought we'd chat with a couple of the newly-announced recruits. We first talk to Dawgs Academy product Bennett Freiter about his decision to head to North Dakota State University. Then we discuss the decision by Vauxhall Academy of Baseball catcher Ty Wevers to head to Cloud County Community College.

Episode 104: Okotoks To Host 2021 WCBL All Star Game

You can circle July 24, 2021 on your calendars. That is when the Western Canadian Baseball League will be hosting its annual All Star Game. The event will also see a change of venue, as the league announced on Wednesday that it will move the game from Edmonton to Okotoks. Ian Wilson sat down with league president Kevin Kvame as well as Dawgs Academy pitching coaches Lou Pote and Jeff Duda to talk about the announcement and what it means for the game in this province and Western Canada.

Episode 103: Prep Baseball Report Alberta

Some of the province's best young baseball talent converged on Spitz Stadium in Lethbridge last week to take part in an open ID camp put on by Prep Baseball Report. The organization has bureaus all over North America, providing coverage of athletes through online profiles, scouting reports, metrics and video. It provides an opportunity for the players to get some exposure, while also giving schools a chance to scout talent from a distance. The Alberta contingent was recently transformed and is now headed up by new scouting director and current Prairie Baseball Academy head coach Todd Hubka. We talked about the team he's put together, the dynamics involved in an event like the one they put on, and we also checked in on what's new at PBA.

Episode 102: Sylvan Lake Gulls Coach Jason Chatwood

Jason Chatwood is involved in almost every aspect of baseball in Central Alberta. So it's fitting that he recently added a new title to his business card: head coach of the expansion Sylvan Lake Gulls of the Western Canadian Baseball League. Chatwood was introduced in a news conference held in late-July and our own Ian Wilson had a chat with him shortly thereafter to talk about being named coach, how the opportunity came to be and what he has in mind as he gets ready for the first season of Gulls baseball.

Episode 101: Foothills Major Baseball Association

We're back! After a couple of weeks off to spend some much-needed time with family and loved ones, we are ramping things back up again on our website and here on the podcast. During the break, Ian and his family went to Glen Hansen Field in Calgary to check out some Foothills Major Baseball Association action. After doing so, we hooked up with FMBA board member and Wolfpack utilityman Curtis Smith to talk about his journey in baseball, the league and what's to come as the season is already winding down.

Episode 100: MLB is Back

Who would have thought we'd amass 100 episodes of the #ADSPodcast? Well here we are. To mark the occasion, Alberta Dugout Stories co-founder and co-contributor Ian Wilson joins us to talk about some of the stories he has been working on, specifically the Western Canadian Baseball League connections to Major League Baseball like Marco Gonzales, Andrelton Simmons and Andrew Kittredge. We also talk about MLB's return and Mike Soroka. That segues into a conversation with Medicine Hat Mavericks' owner and GM Greg Morrison, who almost had the young Calgary phenom in his lineup before he was drafted by the Atlanta Braves. We finish off the podcast with Ian talking about what's to come, including a bit of a break for the podcast as Joe has some pretty big news coming for his family's dugout.

Episode 99: Nolan Rattai

The COVID-19 pandemic not only wiped out the 2020 Western Canadian Baseball League season, but it also delayed the debut of new Medicine Hat Mavericks coach Nolan Rattai. Coming off a stellar playing career including a few years with his hometown squad, the Mavericks' bench boss was also named the assistant general manager during the off-season. And just like he did on the field, Rattai has taken the changing dynamics in stride. We thought we’d catch up with the 23-year-old to talk about his progression from player to front office and now to coach, and what it’s like to keep his baseball career going in his hometown.

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.