Dedicated

It is unbelievably hard to keep secrets from people so deeply entrenched in their communities.

So organizers in St. Albert and Calgary had their hands full in putting together surprise celebrations for two staples in their respective baseball communities.

And even a couple months later, both Kurtus Millar and Glen Hansen have a hard time finding the words to describe having facilities named in their honour.

Blue Jays Academy Gallery

A thrill of a lifetime for many aspiring baseball players in our province with the annual Blue Jays Academy Super Camp powered by Honda.

George Bell, J.P. Arencibia, Homer Bush and Ricky Romero showed players in St. Albert and Okotoks a few tricks of the trade over the last four days.

We were invited onto the field to snap a few photos of the festivities.

7th Inning Stretch: Taran Oulton

No matter where he pitches – or how he’s throwing – you can always count on Taran Oulton to log a lot of innings.

The Calgary-born lefty, who trained at Prospects Academy in St. Albert, recently wrapped up his senior year at William Woods University (WWU), where he set a new school record for complete games in a season.

Since returning to the Edmonton Prospects of the Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) for yet another summer season, Oulton has remained busy.

Flame Thrower

No one can ever accuse Jarome Iginla of choosing the wrong sport.

As a two-time Olympic gold medalist and a player who amassed 625 goals and 1,300 points over his National Hockey League (NHL) career, the former Art Ross Trophy winner can sleep soundly knowing that the work boots that fit him best had steel blades on the soles.

But that’s not to say that “Iggy” – as he became known to hockey fans – didn’t have options when it came to his athletic pursuits. The product of St. Albert was just as comfortable in baseball cleats as he was in skates when he was growing up, and those who witnessed what he was capable of on the diamond say he could have had a future in baseball if he chose that route.

Going To Wark

St. Albert’s Jackson Wark has always dreamed about playing college baseball.

And while he may be one of the top-ranked draft-eligible players from Canada, right now he’s focused on bringing success to his Saint Louis University Billikens.

We chatted with him for a recent episode of Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast and here’s that exchange.