The Final Out

There are final outs and then there are final outs.

The final out of a game. The final out of a series. The final out of a season. The final out of your final season.

Then there’s the last out that precedes a rain delay. Is it really the final out? Will this game start up again? Will we play the rest of this another day?

Such are the questions that come with rain delays.

Welcome to the season of coronavirus. It’s a season of uncertainty and one of far more questions than answers.

Little House on the Prairie

The Prairie Baseball Academy (PBA) in Lethbridge celebrates its 25th anniversary this year and the school is marking the occasion with the introduction of its own Hall of Fame.

The first class honours a half dozen PBA pioneers, including coach Blair Kubicek; the late Keith Jorgensen; former president Rick Paskal; founder Doug Jones; major donor Larry Nolan; and Dustin Molleken, the first PBA player to pitch in Major League Baseball.

We caught up with Kubicek – or “Kubie” as he’s affectionately known by his players and colleagues – to discuss his lengthy history with the academy, which dates back to 1995.

Alberta’s All-Decade Squad

‘Tis the season for year-end and decade-end lists.

We decided to put a different spin on those lists with a roster of Alberta’s baseball talent to suit up between 2010 and 2019.

From an MLB phenom to college stars to women’s national team stalwarts, take a look at who we think deserves recognition for their performances.

When East Meets West

We spent a lot of time examining the Alberta teams of the Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) with 2019 season previews for each club. But the six Alberta squads only make up the Western Division of the league. There are another six teams competing in the Eastern Division of the WCBL – all of them from Saskatchewan.

Here’s a quick look at each Saskatchewan-based team in the WCBL …

2019 MLB Draft Review

The 2019 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft took place from June 3-5 and we have a summary of players with Alberta ties who were selected over the three-day event.

Some of the players chosen in the draft moved here to attend one of the province’s baseball academies, others were born and raised here, while others became familiar faces through the Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL).

We also took note of players who are related to some well-known players who made their way to Alberta to play with one of our minor-league affiliates decades ago.