If there’s one place we love spending time, it’s the ball diamond. Turns out, we’re not alone either. In our travels, we interview people about the game and their passion for it.
Guests on Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast have made it clear that baseball has captured their hearts. They have been seduced by it for numerous reasons and they get starry eyed when we ask them this question:
“What does the game of baseball mean to you?”
The answers range from speechless to profound replies. Many include the words “love” and “passion” and “everything.”
We’ve shared some of these baseball valentines in the past, but please indulge us again as we reveal some tender whispers from those who love the sport as much, if not more, than we do.
Here is a look at how our podcast guests answered the above question:
“The game of baseball teaches you about life, teaches you that it’s OK to fail, but it’s how you get back up. I feel like baseball brings that out of you. It’s almost like survival of the fittest. You get back up and keep punching or you stay down and the game will keep going. They’ll replace you really quick, and that’s just the way it is. It’s meant so much for me throughout my whole life … I’ve seen the top, I’ve seen the bottom, and the bottom has taught me so many lessons and those are the lessons that I’ll teach my kids.” – former Toronto Blue Jay pitcher Ricky Romero.
“It has meant a lot of different things over the years. It has given me so much professionally. I’ve been to 49 states, and Canada, and the biggest reason is baseball, the travel, so whether that be starting a new job and relocating or the travel to cover road games. It’s given me so many gifts. I met my wife as a result of a baseball job in Portland, Oregon. I think to me it’s become really personal – it’s very personal. I want baseball to thrive and I’m really optimistic about it now … to me, it’s more than fandom. Obsession is kind of a negative word so we’ll call it a passion, but the truth is there probably were times when it was an obsession. It’s definitely much more than a game to me.” – Tim Hagerty, baseball broadcaster and author of Tales from the Dugout.
“It means to me time spent with my father because he actually had season tickets and we would go frequently to see the Blue Jays at that old Exhibition Stadium, so baseball for me it means time with my father – in many ways, it means family. It also means to me growing up in Guelph and playing pickup with the boys at the park. I grew up on a street full of boys and so those were my early days of baseball back then in my formative years.” – Lisa Bowes, author of Lucy Tries Baseball.
“Sport brings joy, sport brings a tonne of emotion and togetherness. What better than to take your family to a ballpark and watch a game and grab a bag of popcorn and some hot dogs and a soda and sit there and cheer and fuel that emotion with them as well. That’s community.” – Mitch Canham, head baseball coach of the Oregon State University (OSU) Beavers.
“Pretty close to everything. It opened doors for me to find a way to have a life in sports, to work in sports. It brought me most of the best friends I’ve ever had.” – sports journalist Jonathan Hodgson.
“It’s my life … I love it and I’ve loved it since I was two years old. It means the world to me.” – Carter Claerhout, infielder for the Prairie Basebally Academy and the Lethbridge Bulls.
“It’s brought me to so many different places, so many different experiences, so many different journeys … if I didn’t play the game of baseball I wouldn’t have met the love of my life. I met her at Vauxhall and we were high school sweethearts, so I have a lot of gratuity for the game. It’s taught me so many different things in life: how to handle adversity, how to handle failure, how to handle success and just be grounded through all those things. The game of baseball has given me so much … I’m just very grateful about everything the game has given me.” – Josh Burgmann, 2019 Chicago Cubs draft pick and head scout of the Nanaimo Clippers hockey team.
“It’s always been something I’ve played out of love – it’s the only thing I’ve ever really known, but it’s a passionate thing that keeps us going.” – Buck Martinez, TV broadcaster for the Toronto Blue Jays.
“There’s no Zoe Hicks without softball and baseball. It’s just intertwined with who I am and what I do and what I care about and what I’m passionate about. I just love it with every fibre of my being.” – Zoe Hicks, 2023 Baseball Canada Women’s National Team MVP
“For my family and myself, it provided so many different opportunities and it wasn’t just the baseball side of it … doors can open, whether you’re an athlete, a coach or an administrator – whatever it might be – there’s something there that can help you in your life and make you a better person, and to be able to contribute to society.” – Harold Northcott, Baseball Canada pitcher and coach.
“It’s everything. Baseball is everything to me. It’s always on TV … it’s on my mind every single night. I think about my approach, about hitting a curveball, or did I stay down on that ground ball in practice today. It’s just everything. All my teammates are family. Those guys know they can call me whenever they need, they can text me, we always go out for dinner together – all the friendships, the teammates, the coaches, it is my life. My goal is stay around the game as long as I can because if I can stay around baseball every day, I think I’ll be pretty happy.” – Jacob Honke, Edmonton Collegiate Hawks infielder.
“Baseball is life, the rest is just details.” – Josh Bishop, General Manager of Sherwood Park Minor Baseball.
“Baseball means everything to me. I grew up playing baseball starting at the age of four or five and I just love this game. I don’t think I’d be able to live life without baseball. Baseball has been with me my whole life. It’s got me into college and it’s let me travel the world and see different places that I wouldn’t be able to see if I wasn’t playing baseball.” – Matty Fung, outfielder for the Sylvan Lake Gulls.
“It means the world to me. It’s my life, it’s been my life for over a decade, it’s helped create who I am today.” – Cydnie Moore, Vice President Girls Baseball for Centennial Little League.
“It means a whole lot. For this point in my career, especially, it’s something that’s really connective for myself, my family … getting to be on the phone with my grandparents and knowing that they watch the games, especially my mom and dad, sister, brother, like everybody – aunt and uncle, too – everybody just loves to tune into my games so it’s really connective and that’s how I’ve been able to see my family over the years.” – Landen Bourassa, pitcher with the Winnipeg Goldeyes.
“It’s a family thing to me. You can’t create this kind of comradery, brotherhood … people that I haven’t been around for a decade or two decades, when we get back together, it’s like we saw each other yesterday.” – Pat Borders, former Medicine Hat Blue Jay and back-to-back World Series champion with the Toronto Blue Jays.
“I’m sure everybody says it’s their life, but literally I think it’s been my life, from playing all the way through to the junior team, to playing pro for all those years, to the Olympic team, to working for Baseball New Brunswick – little bit of a switch to Sport New Brunswick, but still dealing with baseball – to coaching the Junior National Team, to being a volunteer for many, many years on the board for Baseball Canada, to now becoming the CEO. I can’t imagine a part of my life that doesn’t have baseball in it.” – Baseball Canada CEO Jason Dickson
“You fall in love with the game and you always hear those romantic stories about how can you not love baseball? … I love the game and it means everything.” – Dawgs Academy player Leo Cote.
“It’s super fun, it’s enjoyable, it’s fun to play but it also gives you life lessons, helping with adversity and being in extremely uncomfortable environments and pushing through … and the people you meet along the way – the teammates, coaches – they’re lifelong bonds. The connections you make from baseball are super important.” – Simon Baker, Webber Academy outfielder and 2023 Canadian Futures Showcase MVP.
“This is my life and I would never trade it for anything in the world and to add IBL champion on top of that just doubles down on that statement. It means everything to me. I would never give this up.” – Welland Jackfish pitcher Scott Gillespie.
“Baseball means everything to me. I wake up every day and I think about it. Since I can remember it’s the only thing I can see myself doing for the rest of my life, so I just put my head down and work every day to try and fulfill that dream.” – Nathan Flewelling, 2023 Canadian Futures Showcase Home Run Derby champ.
“This is my life. I have hopes to go professional one day. Without baseball I don’t know where I’d be right now. It’s great.” – Reece Hemmerling, Absolute Human Performance (AHP) pitcher.
“It’s a game of ups and downs, it’s a game of struggle, it’s a game of failure … it means a lot to me in terms of relatability and to life. You’re going to have days that are better than others, you’re going to have success, you’re going to fail, you’re going to not be in control of a lot of things and that is so crucial in life.” – Matt Coutney, prospect in Los Angeles Angels organization.
“It gave me what I have now. My family is thoroughly involved in it and it’s something that I’ve done since I was seven years old and I will do until the day I die. It’s something that has given us a lot and given everyone around me a lot, as well. I truly love it.” – Joe Young, former Medicine Hat Blue Jays pitcher.
“It’s everything to me … it’s been my life. I’ve dedicated everything to it … it means the world to me and I’m going to keep playing as long as I can.” – Baseball Canada player Charmayne Gervais.
“I feel like I’ve never gone to work. Not one day in my life have I gone to work where I regretted going to the ballpark. I’ve had good days, I’ve had bad days but I look back on it and it’s just like it was the best time and the best choice or opportunity that I had, so it just means everything.” – Team Canada head coach Ernie Whitt.
