Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast

Episode 19: Bob Elliott

He has garnered the respect of everyone in the Canadian baseball world. We sat down with the highly-acclaimed baseball writer Bob Elliott to talk about how he got into the sport in the first place, some of his favourite memories, and what he would like young Canadian kids to think about as they strive to make it to the big leagues.

Episode 18: Clayton Keyes & St. Francis Xavier Baseball Academy

Dawgs Academy product Clayton Keyes has garnered many headlines over the last few years after being drafted by Toronto in 2016 and Arizona in 2017. He's hoping to write a new chapter to his story in 2019 though. And we continue our #1Thru9 academy profiles with a look at St. Francis Xavier Baseball Academy in Edmonton.

Episode 17: Prairie Baseball Academy & What We Love About Baseball

With Valentine's Day this week, Ian Wilson and Joe McFarland chat about some of the things they love about the sport as well as some of the things to come this spring with baseball in Alberta. And we continue our #1Thru9 academy profiles with a look at Prairie Baseball Academy and a chat with coach Todd Hubka.

Episode 16: Prospects Academy & Tracking College Recruits

Back to regular-scheduled programming. We continue our #1Thru9 profiles of Alberta's academies with Prospects Academy and a chat with Jordan Blundell. We also get some background on what it takes to track Alberta's college-bound prospects in the US with Kevin Wall from @CollegeBaseba12 and http://www.cbplayers.com.

Episode 15: Big City Ballparks

A lot of news in the last couple of weeks when it comes to the stadiums in Edmonton and Calgary. We chat with Edmonton Prospects owner Pat Cassidy about his proposed deal surrounding ReMax Field and we give a little update on what the future might have in store for Foothills Stadium in Calgary.

Episode 14: Vimy Ridge Baseball Academy & Jackson Wark

We continue our #1Thru9 academy profiles with a look at one of the new kids on the block in Vimy Ridge Baseball Academy in Edmonton. And with the college baseball season upon us, we head to Saint Louis University to chat with St. Albert's Jackson Wark about the upcoming season and being ranked one of the top Canadian talents heading into the 2019 MLB Draft.

Episode 13: From Calgary To Cooperstown

In his tenth and final year of eligibility, Seattle Mariners great Edgar Martinez was finally named to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Martinez becomes the first former member of the Calgary Cannons to be named to the Hall. We hear from Edgar about his time in Alberta, as well as some who saw him up close and personal.

Episode 12: Striving For Success

Young baseball players in Calgary were given a few pointers on the game from a couple of young talents in the game recently. Toronto Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen joined up with former teammate and Drayton Valley's own Shane Dawson for the clinic. Ian Wilson caught up with both Jansen and Dawson for quick chats. Ian also spoke with former MLB pitcher and Calgary native Chris Reitsma to talk about his work with Mike Soroka, among other things.

Episode 11: Badlands Academy & Ron Kittle

It's all good at Badlands Baseball Academy in Oyen. We sit down with coach Jeff Amos to talk about the program's beginnings and what's to come in the rural Alberta facility. And it was Ron Kittle's 61st birthday over the weekend. We found the audio file from Ian's interview with the former Lethbridge Dodger and Edmonton Trapper from over the summer and play a bit of it for you!

Episode 10: Happy New Year

It's always fun to reminisce about the year that's been and look at the year that will be this time of year. Joe McFarland and Ian Wilson revisit some of the big stories in Alberta's baseball world in 2018 and gaze into the crystal ball for what's to come in 2019. Joe also chats with Atlanta Braves youngster and Calgary native Mike Soroka about his MLB debut and coming back from injury.

Episode 9: Nicole Luchanski

She is one of the most-decorated baseball players in Alberta's history. Nicole Luchanski first joined Baseball Canada's national women's program in 2006 and just before her 29th birthday, announced her retirement. In this special edition of the podcast, we chat with her about baseball, her legacy and what's to come in life.

Episode 8: Vauxhall Academy & Matt Lloyd

We continue our #1Thru9 series with a look at Vauxhall Academy and a chat with Les McTavish. We also chat with Dawgs Academy grad and Okotoks native Matt Lloyd about going viral with his swing recently and about the work he needs to do to get noticed by MLB scouts ahead of the 2019 draft.