We commemorate Black History Month by paying tribute to two Western Canadian teams known for their skill, style and swagger. The Indian Head Rockets and Amber Valley Baseball Team entertained thousands of fans every time they hit the field. We’ll hear from Home Runs and Dirt Roads author, and Indian Head Museum's Robyn Jensen about the Rockets’ legacy, as well as author Chris L. Butler about his love of Negro Leagues history and fascination with Amber Valley.

6:21 - Robyn Jensen

38:41 - Chris L. Butler

We make our way through a lengthy list of news items then welcome a trio of great guests to the show. We start things off with Dawgs Academy hurler and Central Arizona College commit Austin Collins. Then we head east to Going Yard Academy where pitcher Willis Simair has committed to Garden City Community College. And we wrap up the show with long-time coach Mike Steed, who is now the pitching coach with the Atlanta Braves' new Double-A affiliate in Columbus. He was through Fort McMurray in January for a coaching clinic and we thought it would be great getting to know his baseball journey.

4:37 - Austin Collins

18:49 - Willis Simair

35:14 - Mike Steed

We're proud to bring you a very special edition of the show this week as we celebrate the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame's Class of 2025. Toronto Blue Jays great Jose Bautista headlines this year's class along with former big leaguer Erik Bedard, Junior National Team head coach Greg Hamilton and former Women's National Team great Amanda Asay. The Hall's Veteran's Committee also selected Saskatchewan native and All-American Girls Professional League star Arleene Noga and former Montreal city councillor Gerry Snyder. The ceremony is set for June 7. Hear from Bautista and Hamilton as well as family members of Asay, Noga and Snyder in a conference call held on Feb. 12.

1:16 - Jose Bautista

8:04 - Greg Hamilton

12:18 - Amanda Asay's parents Loris and George

21:09 - Arleene Noga's daughter Carol Lee (Noga) Scott

24:23 - Gerry Snyder's daughter Arlene Kenrick and son Gary Snyder

It's been a busy week for baseball in Alberta, so plenty of storylines to pass your way in the news. Then we have a trio of great conversations to get you into the weekend. We have a pair of high school players who will soon be going to college in Dawgs Academy product Kingston Besuijen (College of San Mateo) and Red Deer Minor Baseball/St. Joseph Academy product Tanner Morrow (University of Pikeville). Then we wrap things up with Craik, Saskatchewan native and Vauxhall Academy alum Tanner Spencer, who is now the head coach at the University of Mary.

4:12 - Kingston Besuijen

14:13 - Tanner Morrow

29:19 - Tanner Spencer

This is a special edition of the show that we are dropping on this Tuesday as, over the weekend, Prairie Baseball Academy held its annual banquet and celebration of baseball. It was also a night to honour a Southern Alberta baseball legend. Todd Hubka has been with the program going on 28 years now and is now entering the 15th season as head coach. He helped guide them to seven-straight CCBC championships and has a career .580 winning percentage. For all that, he was this year’s lone induction to the PBA Hall of Fame.

1:28 - Les McTavish

13:10 - Ryan MacDonald

25:50 - Todd Hubka

He is a Canadian baseball legend and the first base coach of the St. Louis Cardinals. We are, of course, talking about Stubby Clapp. A true “Mr. Hustle” for Canada for years, he made it to the MLB with a 23-game stint in 2001 with the Cards. The 11-year pro’s final two years came here in Alberta with the Edmonton Cracker-Cats in 2005-2006 (including the infamous brawl against the Calgary Vipers) before he went into coaching. He’s been on the Canadian Olympic Team, two World Baseball Classics, and was a key piece of that amazing 2015 Gold Medal performance at the Pan Am Games. For all his accomplishments, Clapp was inducted to the Baseball Canada Wall of Excellence on January 11. The Windsor, Ontario native spent some time with us recently to discuss his journey, his memories of Edmonton and what it meant to be recognized by Baseball Canada.

Welcome to the start of the 2025 podcast season! As always, we start off with some of the big news items from the past few weeks, then we head to the minor leagues for a trio of guests. Dawgs Academy and Okotoks Dawgs alum Matt Lloyd checks in after a great first season with the Double-A Springfield Cardinals, Vauxhall Academy product Adam Macko looks back at a year that started with the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats and ended with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, and St. Francis Xavier Academy grad Matt Coutney reflects on a 2024 split between the High-A Tri-City Dust Devils and the Double-A Rocket City Trash Pandas.

4:21 - Matt Lloyd

19:23 - Adam Macko

43:12 - Matt Coutney

We are excited to announce the first official episode of the 2025 baseball season will be hitting the airwaves on January 23! 2024 was an outstanding year and we can't wait to make this year even better with more stories, more roadtrips, more collaborations and more great guests on the show. Make sure to subscribe now wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts.