EDITORIAL: Five Years Later

It all started at the tables of Calgary pubs as conversations about baseball’s days of yore in Alberta.

The Expos, Dodgers, Blue Jays, Trappers and Cannons featuring names like Dawson, Sax, Moseby, Valenzuela and Edgar.

Here we are, five years later since the start of Alberta Dugout Stories. We’re here to say thank YOU for your tremendous support.

The Brothers Vulcano

Canada has a growing list of recognizable baseball families.

The Quantrills. Naylors. Pompeys. Toros.

As Matt Betts of Canadian Baseball Network tells us, the Vulcanos are hoping to make their family a household name as they forge their own path in baseball.

One-Two Punch

If you see one, the other probably isn’t too far away.

BC’s Carlin Dick and New Brunswick’s Max Grant became fast friends at the Vauxhall Academy of Baseball.

Now hitting 1-2 in the batting order at Canisius College in New York, the pair is hoping to continue their winning ways together with the Golden Griffins.

Still Smiling

Luxon Glor’s smile is infectious.

While discussing his journey in life and sport, the young man on the other side of the Zoom conversation exudes an air of positivity and gratitude that is refreshing in what feels like a fractured world.

Through all of the challenges he has faced, the Haiti-born and Vauxhall Academy product has emerged as one of the greatest in track-and-field at the University of Mary, and is still hoping to fulfill an Olympic dream.

2021 ADS All-College Team

As the baseball season winds to a close, we take a look back at some of the top performances by Alberta athletes in US College programs.

It’s our second annual “All-College Team”, where we have gone through stats reports and boxscores to find the top performers at each position.

Some are newcomers, while others were on the team last year. All are worthy candidates to be celebrated for their achievements in 2021.

3 UP, 3 DOWN WITH LEVI ABBOTT

If you’re scanning the strikeout leaderboard for Levi Abbott’s name, check at the top before working your way down.

The 6-foot-3, right-handed pitcher for the Lethbridge Bulls leads the Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) in Ks, with 66, through his first 43.2 innings of work this summer and his other statistics have not suffered during his eight appearances.

We caught up with Abbott to pick his brain on the summer he’s having in the WCBL for a segment we like to call 3 UP, 3 DOWN.

The Grandy Man

Shawn Grandmont has quietly put together one of the best college careers we’ve seen from an Alberta baseball product.

The Lethbridge slugger capped it off by helping the Northwest Nazarene University Nighthawks to their first NCAA Division II National Championships appearance.

He shares his baseball journey with us, including Vauxhall Academy of Baseball and what lies ahead.

Palm Before The Storm

Damiano Palmegiani is back with a vengeance.

The Surrey, B.C. native was a highly-touted prospect coming out of Vauxhall Academy of baseball, being drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2018.

After a couple of years of struggles, the hard-hitting infielder has found his swing again with the College of Southern Nevada, which has many thinking he’s ready for the pros.

Great Scott

In the immortal words of the great Yogi Berra: “Baseball is 90 per cent mental. The other half is physical.”

It’s a saying that Ty Scott is taking to heart as a senior at Bryan College. The Calgary native is having a career year with the Lions as they chase an NAIA championship.

We chatted with him about mindset, his baseball journey and more for an episode of Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast.

Box Score Beauties: April 2021

This chapter of Box Score Beauties provides a glimpse of some of the achievements of Alberta-born and trained baseball players who are excelling south of the border …