Joe McFarland, of Alberta Dugout Stories, named winner of Baseball Canada's Media Recognition Award
Joe McFarland, of Alberta Dugout Stories, has been named winner of Baseball Canada’s Bob Elliott Media Recognition Award. Photo: Baseball Canada
December 17, 2025
Baseball Canada
The Bob Elliott Media Recognition Award is named after Bob Elliott, a former winner (2012) of the BBWAA Career Excellence Award, the highest award given by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA), presented annually by the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Elliott covered both the Montréal Expos and Toronto Blue Jays during a distinguished career that spanned four decades, but it’s Bob’s long-lasting contributions to Canadian baseball and raising the profile of Canadians in the game and telling their stories which has resulted in this award being named after him. The Kingston, Ontario native’s Canadian Baseball Network website has been a go-to source for information for years from Canadian baseball sandlots all the way to the big leagues. When a Canadian reaches the majors, chances are the Canadian baseball community read about them years earlier via Elliott and the Canadian Baseball Network. His coverage of Canadian prospects eligible for the annual MLB Draft has must read material for years while his annual Top 100 Most Influential Canadians in Baseball list has provided deserved recognition for many year-over-year. It’s through Bob’s work that he’s forged relationships across Canada allowing him to tell great Canadian baseball stories to this very day.
Baseball Canada is proud to name Joe McFarland of Calgary, Alberta as the recipient of the 2025 Bob Elliott Media Recognition Award.
McFarland is being honoured for his exceptional contributions to Canadian baseball storytelling through his work with Alberta Dugout Stories, a platform documenting the game from grassroots levels up to the professional ranks across Alberta and Canada. Through his must-listen podcasts and interviews, compelling writing, feature stories and in-depth profiles, he has brought visibility to players, teams, and communities often underrepresented in mainstream coverage.
Since co-founding Alberta Dugout Stories (along with Ian Wilson), McFarland has provided consistent coverage of amateur leagues, travel and academy programs, tournaments, university and college baseball along with the professional ranks. If it happened on the sandlots of Alberta, Joe leaves no stone unturned with his storytelling abilities.
Former Alberta professional teams and the players who played for them are often part of Joe’s work giving longtime residents of communities like Edmonton, Calgary, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat a trip down memory lane.
His coverage of the Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) and Canadian College Baseball Conference (CCBC) provide unparalleled coverage to local teams and players while Alberta’s budding female baseball talent is often featured in Joe’s coverage.
"Joe is a workaholic, a two-way man. Prolific. He doubles as a podcast host and a scribe for Alberta Dugout Stories and of late, Saskatchewan Dugout Stories,” said Bob Elliott.
"Joe and Ian Wilson cover the west like a nailed-down tarp, from the rich diamond history of the prairies to the Junior National Team players, young college men and minor leaguers who continue the tradition. If you are from Alberta, Saskatchewan or flew over either province -- they will tell you all about the prairie connections."
Bob Elliott Media Recognition Award recipients:
2020-Mike Wilner
2021-Alexis Brudnicki
2022-Kevin Glew
2023-Shi Davidi
2024-Benoit Rioux
2025-Joe McFarland