Flying Together Again

It’s impossible to blame Adam Macko for his reaction to getting a random early morning call from a number he didn’t recognize.

Like many others, he just let it ring.

However, the Vauxhall Academy of Baseball product later found out it was a call to inform him he had been traded to the Toronto Blue Jays, and would be reunited with his old Vauxhall teammate, Damiano Palmegiani.

Macko on the Move

Vauxhall Academy grad Adam Macko is part of a major trade between the Jays and the Mariners.

Meanwhile, former Okotoks Dawgs outfielder Tristan Peters was also dealt …

Alberta’s 2022 Pro Connections

The 2022 baseball season is officially underway.

Scouring the rosters of all Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball teams, there is certainly no shortage of connections to Alberta on the field.

We’ve compiled a list of players who were born here, trained here or played here with the Western Canadian Baseball League.

The Cardinal’s In

The baseball journey for Maddux Mateychuk has been a windy road thus far.

From his home in Dominion City, Manitoba to plying his trade with Vauxhall Academy of Baseball to signing his Letter of Intent with Mineral Area College in Missouri, the 17-year-old has one goal in mind: making it to the big leagues.

We chatted with the 6-foot-3, 215-pound right-hander for a recent episode of Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast and here is the full Q&A.

Macko’s Mindset

Adam Macko has a bold goal in mind.

It’s not enough to make it into professional baseball or even into the Major Leagues. He wants to get into the Hall of Fame.

His journey towards that goal soon begins with his first spring training with the Seattle Mariners.

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.

Lethbridge Bulls Season Preview

Thanks to the Medicine Hat Mavericks, the Lethbridge Bulls were seeing red at the end of the 2018 season.

That red came courtesy of the rose-coloured caps and uniforms of Medicine Hat, who eliminated Lethbridge 3-1 in a five-game playoff series that saw the Mavs outscore the Bulls by 18 runs over four games.

Despite the frustrating finish, there were plenty of bright spots in the Lethbridge lineup.

Scouting Alberta

Just about a year into its existence, the Alberta bureau of Prep Baseball Report is making strides in building up a “robust profile” on some of the province’s young baseball talent.

Former Lethbridge Bulls pitcher Andrew Maclean sat down with us to talk about what he’s looking for, what he’s seeing and what we should be seeing out of the baseball scene in Alberta over the next few years.

Lucky Charms

You could call it the luck of the Irish that Adam Macko ended up in Alberta.

The left-handed pitching prospect did indeed play baseball in Ireland in 2012 and 2013, winning a Little League championship that first year and finishing second the next.

And if it’s true that luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity, than you can certainly call Adam lucky. But that seems rather dismissive of all the hard work that he put it in before arriving in Canada … and since he got here.