Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast

It's Opening Weekend for the Canadian College Baseball Conference (CCBC) season and it also marks the circuit's 25th anniversary. Just like last year, we have you covered with a look-ahead to what the spring will bring for the three Alberta teams. We'll hear from The Battery Media's Logan Wedgewood again as he dissects the upcoming year and what he sees as some of the top storylines going in. Then we hear from a player on each of the Alberta teams: Jake Roggensack (Wainwright) of the Edmonton Collegiate Hawks, Cody Graf (Lloydminster) of Prairie Baseball Academy and Ethan Webster (White Rock, B.C.) of the University of Calgary Dinos. 4:31 - Logan Wedgewood 30:49 - Jake Roggensack 48:01 - Cody Graf 58:22 - Ethan Webster

We have a trio of US college freshmen who are looking to make big first impressions. Ryan Kwasnissia of AHP Academy and Stony Plain is at Pratt Community College, Webber Academy and Calgary native Kai Rempel is with Cloud County Community College, and Dawgs Academy grad Leo Griffin is lighting it up with Hutchinson Community College. We discuss their respective journeys in the game and what they hope to accomplish this season. 4:10 - Ryan Kwasnycia 18:21 - Kai Rempel 35:29 - Leo Griffin

Our guest this week really doesn’t need an introduction. Jamie Campbell has been the host of Blue Jays Central on Sportsnet for years now. He’s also a former Alberta broadcaster, having worked in Edmonton during the 1990’s. We first chatted with him back on Episode #85 of the show, which was during the pandemic and he was making phone calls to long-time baseball fans who were yearning for a chance to watch their favourite team again. Since then, he’s made a trek back here to catch a few WCBL games, is coming to Weyburn for their 2025 Sports Dinner with John Axford on March 15th and, as it turns out, he’s turned into a life-long fan.

It's been a long time coming, but Foothills Stadium is finally being torn down. The home of the Calgary Cardinals, Expos, Cannons, Outlaws, Vipers, Bucks, Dinos and Dawgs (who later moved to Okotoks) has been the planned site for the city's new fieldhouse project for years. With a blast of warm February weather, three excavators started tearing down the stands, dugouts and guts of the former Burns Stadium. Joe McFarland and Ian Wilson discuss their thoughts on the past and future of the site as well as baseball in Calgary. Ian also shares an interview he did with former Cannons owner Russ Parker, who happened to be snapping photos of the tear-down when Ian made his first visit to the site.

We commemorate Black History Month by paying tribute to two Western Canadian teams known for their skill, style and swagger. The Indian Head Rockets and Amber Valley Baseball Team entertained thousands of fans every time they hit the field. We’ll hear from Home Runs and Dirt Roads author, and Indian Head Museum's Robyn Jensen about the Rockets’ legacy, as well as author Chris L. Butler about his love of Negro Leagues history and fascination with Amber Valley. 6:21 - Robyn Jensen 38:41 - Chris L. Butler

We make our way through a lengthy list of news items then welcome a trio of great guests to the show. We start things off with Dawgs Academy hurler and Central Arizona College commit Austin Collins. Then we head east to Going Yard Academy where pitcher Willis Simair has committed to Garden City Community College. And we wrap up the show with long-time coach Mike Steed, who is now the pitching coach with the Atlanta Braves' new Double-A affiliate in Columbus. He was through Fort McMurray in January for a coaching clinic and we thought it would be great getting to know his baseball journey. 4:37 - Austin Collins 18:49 - Willis Simair 35:14 - Mike Steed

We're proud to bring you a very special edition of the show this week as we celebrate the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame's Class of 2025. Toronto Blue Jays great Jose Bautista headlines this year's class along with former big leaguer Erik Bedard, Junior National Team head coach Greg Hamilton and former Women's National Team great Amanda Asay. The Hall's Veteran's Committee also selected Saskatchewan native and All-American Girls Professional League star Arleene Noga and former Montreal city councillor Gerry Snyder. The ceremony is set for June 7. Hear from Bautista and Hamilton as well as family members of Asay, Noga and Snyder in a conference call held on Feb. 12. 1:16 - Jose Bautista 8:04 - Greg Hamilton 12:18 - Amanda Asay's parents Loris and George 21:09 - Arleene Noga's daughter Carol Lee (Noga) Scott 24:23 - Gerry Snyder's daughter Arlene Kenrick and son Gary Snyder

It's been a busy week for baseball in Alberta, so plenty of storylines to pass your way in the news. Then we have a trio of great conversations to get you into the weekend. We have a pair of high school players who will soon be going to college in Dawgs Academy product Kingston Besuijen (College of San Mateo) and Red Deer Minor Baseball/St. Joseph Academy product Tanner Morrow (University of Pikeville). Then we wrap things up with Craik, Saskatchewan native and Vauxhall Academy alum Tanner Spencer, who is now the head coach at the University of Mary. 4:12 - Kingston Besuijen 14:13 - Tanner Morrow 29:19 - Tanner Spencer

This is a special edition of the show that we are dropping on this Tuesday as, over the weekend, Prairie Baseball Academy held its annual banquet and celebration of baseball. It was also a night to honour a Southern Alberta baseball legend. Todd Hubka has been with the program going on 28 years now and is now entering the 15th season as head coach. He helped guide them to seven-straight CCBC championships and has a career .580 winning percentage. For all that, he was this year’s lone induction to the PBA Hall of Fame. 1:28 - Les McTavish 13:10 - Ryan MacDonald 25:50 - Todd Hubka

he is a Canadian baseball legend and the first base coach of the St. Louis Cardinals. We are, of course, talking about Stubby Clapp. A true “Mr. Hustle” for Canada for years, he made it to the MLB with a 23-game stint in 2001 with the Cards. The 11-year pro’s final two years came here in Alberta with the Edmonton Cracker-Cats in 2005-2006 before he went into coaching. He’s been on the Canadian Olympic Team, two World Baseball Classics, and was a key piece of that amazing 2015 Gold Medal performance at the Pan Am Games. For all his accomplishments, Clapp was inducted to the Baseball Canada Wall of Excellence on January 11. The Windsor, Ontario native spent some time with us recently to discuss his journey, his memories of Edmonton and what it meant to be recognized by Baseball Canada.

Welcome to the start of the 2025 podcast season! As always, we start off with some of the big news items from the past few weeks, then we head to the minor leagues for a trio of guests. Dawgs Academy and Okotoks Dawgs alum Matt Lloyd checks in after a great first season with the Double-A Springfield Cardinals, Vauxhall Academy product Adam Macko looks back at a year that started with the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats and ended with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, and St. Francis Xavier Academy grad Matt Coutney reflects on a 2024 split between the High-A Tri-City Dust Devils and the Double-A Rocket City Trash Pandas. 4:21 - Matt Lloyd 19:23 - Adam Macko 43:12 - Matt Coutney

We are excited to announce the first official episode of the 2025 baseball season will be hitting the airwaves on January 23! 2024 was an outstanding year and we can't wait to make this year even better with more stories, more roadtrips, more collaborations and more great guests on the show. Make sure to subscribe now wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts.

It's hard to believe that we are putting the wraps on yet another season of #ADSPodcast. Thank YOU for checking us out, whether it was one episode or all 50+ this season. Our Ian Wilson stops by for a recap of the recent Western Canadian Baseball League Annual General Meeting, then we hear from Saskatoon Berries president Steve Hildebrand and new Swift Current 57s president Jamie LeBlanc. Then Ian returns as we look back at our favourite stories of 2024 and what's exciting us heading into 2025. 3:38 - Ian Wilson on WCBL AGM 18:04 - Steve Hildebrand 26:02 - Jamie LeBlanc 32:27 - Ian Wilson on 2024 highlights and 2025 look-ahead

It's a big day with a new show and brand new stories on both of our websites to celebrate the unveiling of the fifth annual ADS All-College Team and the first annual SDS All-College Team. After the news headlines, we look quickly at each of the rosters, then are joined by Connor Crowson (Okotoks) of the University of Montevallo, Tom Poole (Calgary) of Dallas Baptist University and Payton McHarg (Saskatoon) of Washburn University. 3:28 - Connor Crowson 16:20 - Tom Poole 30:11 - Payton McHarg

Awards season in baseball around Alberta rolled into high gear recently with a pair of major galas last weekend. We looked back at the Little League Alberta event earlier this week, and now we head to the Baseball Alberta festivities in Edmonton. We start things off with executive director Danielle Moffat, who says it was another banner year for baseball in the province. Then we get to know Baseball Alberta Elite League Player of the Year Luke Schmitt and catch up with Women's Open Player of the Year Kaitlyn Ross. 3:17 - Danielle Moffat 17:13 - Luke Schmitt 32:15 - Kaitlyn Ross

It's awards season in Alberta's baseball world with two major events held this past weekend by Baseball Alberta and Little League Alberta. We will wrap-up the Baseball Alberta awards later this week, but we open things up with the Little League Alberta awards. Our Joe McFarland hosted a session on traditional and social media before serving as emcee for the banquet. After it was all over, he sat down for a "state of the union" with president Kevin Kvame then continued his fireside chat with former Little League World Series competitor and current Vancouver Canadians athletic therapist Katie Reyes. 1:27 - Kevin Kvame 12:15 - Katie Reyes

We open up the show with a look at the news headlines, including Joe's pick for the new Edmonton Prospects name, which you can enter their contest here. Then he chats with a pair of Tampa Bay Rays prospects: Dawgs Academy and Okotoks Dawgs alum Tristan Peters and Grande Prairie Minor Baseball and St. Albert Minor Baseball alum Tyler Herron. 5:06 - Tristan Peters 22:21 - Tyler Herron

Erik Sabrowski really needs no introduction. The Edmonton native's journey to the majors has been well-documented, and we’ve been lucky enough to follow him for quite some time. This year, it went to another level as he got the call-up to the big leagues, became a big piece of the Cleveland Guardians bullpen during their run to the playoffs, and made some impressive appearances in the ALDS and ALCS. The St. Albert Minor Baseball, Absolute Human Performance and Edmonton Prospects alum is back home now and received a hero’s welcome in Edmonton, including getting to see his beloved Oilers play a few games and even being part of Wednesday’s Sportsnet broadcast with Gene Principe. It’s been a big year and it’ll get even bigger for the 27-year-old as he’s set to get married in just a few days. We talked about it all in this fantastic conversation.

News from the baseball world is slowing down a bit, but we still have a few things to pass along. Then we go a little deeper into last week's unveiling of the 2025 Western Canadian Baseball League schedule. Joe explains why he loves the idea of the WCBL Rural Roots Game, then sits down with Pat Cassidy of the Edmonton Prospects to talk about the latest on the new Myshak Metro Ballpark in Spruce Grove and an upcoming name change.

Happy Halloween! Big congrats to the Los Angeles Dodgers on winning the World Series (take a look back at the Dodgers' history in Alberta with the Pioneer League's Lethbridge Dodgers here). After we get through the rest of the news from a busy week, we sit down with Vauxhall Academy's Hudson Kozicki (Sherwood Park) and Badlands Academy's Braxton Bussing (Coronation) to talk about their respective college commitments. Then we catch up with Dawgs Academy alum Jack Lines about getting drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 12th round of this past summer's MLB Draft. 3:42 - Hudson Kozicki 19:26 - Braxton Bussing 28:52 - Jack Lines