Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast

Words probably can’t describe the feeling everyone had Saturday night after witnessing the Western Canadian Baseball League’s All-Star Game festivities in Okotoks. A crowd of 6,000+ people, the players and coaches enjoying every minute of it, some incredible moments of baseball, fireworks at the end, and a million memories made, and it feels like we’re just scratching the surface. Make sure to head to albertadugoutstories.com for the game story and photo gallery that we posted earlier this week. We have plenty more stories to come in the days ahead. Here on the podcast, instead of one guest telling us the story of the day, we have a series of shorter interviews done before and after the game, to help capture the day’s events. Listen in to hear from Matt Wolff of the Brooks Bombers, Braden DeSonia of the Medicine Hat Mavericks, McCoy Pearce and Micah McDowell of the Okotoks Dawgs, Weyburn Beavers slugger Nolan Machibroda, and Sylvan Lake Gulls infielder and All-Star Game MVP Ethan Ho.

There’s no doubting Brent Radlinsky’s dedication to the New York Yankees. All you need to do is see the wall behind him when he’s hosting his podcast or chatting with you on Zoom. It’s all jerseys and memorabilia. There’s also no doubting his love of the game of baseball. Whether it’s talking about the game on his Fourteen Twenty Sports Bar podcast, the occasional writing he does for Belly Up Sports, or at the field as an umpire at a variety of levels in Southern Alberta, Radlinsky is a baseball lifer. The Fort Macleod product joined us recently and we shared a few laughs about his baseball journey, some of his favourite moments, and the worst call he ever made.

We have several guests lined up for this week's episode as we take a look back at the first two rounds of the Western Canadian Baseball League playoffs and look ahead to the best-of-three championship between the Okotoks Dawgs and Moose Jaw Miller Express. You'll hear from:

Okotoks Dawgs - head coach Lou Pote as well as players Brendan Luther, Tucker Zdunich, Brock Townsend (and his father Bill), Graham Brunner, Logan Grant and Ashton Luera

Sylvan Lake Gulls - head coach Jason Chatwood and player Elijha Hammill

Moose Jaw Miller Express - head coach Eric Marriott and player Nate Mensik

It's been a fun-filled few weeks around the WCBL ball diamonds with records being set and great performances galore. We check in with a trio of veterans for their perspectives and journeys in baseball. Hear from Brooks Bombers infielder Zander Bretza, Swift Current 57s pitcher Kenny Jinks and Okotoks Dawgs southpaw Graham Brunner on this week's episode of Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast.

4:13 - Zander Bretza

19:18 - Kenny Jinks

36:47 - Graham Brunner

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