Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast

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.

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.