Posts in Sandlots
Elliott: WCBL fans see a thriller in all-star game at Dawgs' Seaman Stadium
Elliott: WCBL fans see a thriller in all-star game at Dawgs' Seaman Stadium

“The love affair between this town and baseball reached new heights Saturday night in the Western Canadian Baseball League East-West all-star game.

The game had a lot of everything but mostly drama and college-like excitement, in front of a crowd of 6,000 at Seaman Stadium. Like a pair of triples ... The East scoring five in the eighth for an 8-6 lead ... The West scoring two in the bottom of the ninth to forcing extras ... The West throwing out the possible lead run at the plate in the 10th with the West dugout emptying as if some one had yelled “FIRE!” ... and finally a walk-off single through a drawn-in, five-man infield.”

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Bob Elliott, SandlotsBob Elliott
Stairs shares hitting wisdom in Alberta, impressed by Dawgs' facilities
Stairs shares hitting wisdom in Alberta, impressed by Dawgs' facilities

“Matt Stairs must feel at home in Alberta.

The former big league slugger, who was at Seaman Stadium in Okotoks, Alta., as a special guest at the Western Canadian Baseball League’s All-Star Game on Saturday, has a brother that lives in Calgary and he and his wife, Lisa, were staying with his ex-sister-in-law in Okotoks.

It was also in Alberta with the Oakland A’s triple-A Edmonton Trappers in 1996 that Stairs turned his professional baseball career around. At age 28, after seven seasons in the minors with only short stretches of big league action, he decided to open up his batting stance.”

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Alberta Dugout Stories, Canadians in MLB, Major Leagues (MLB), SandlotsKevin Glew
Elliott: Luther a chip off the Bond Park block
Elliott: Luther a chip off the Bond Park block

Brendan Luther (Mississauga, Ont.) will be more than a Western Canadian Baseball League All-Star shortstop on Saturday night at Seaman Stadium in Okotoks. No, like Hank Williams, Jr., the Okotoks Dawgs infielder, is carrying on a family tradition as he suits up for the West All-Stars, writes Canadian Baseball Network editor-in-chief, Bob Elliott.

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Bob Elliott, SandlotsBob Elliott
“Big Maple” Brunner excited to pitch in front of home crowd at WCBL All-Star Game
“Big Maple” Brunner excited to pitch in front of home crowd at WCBL All-Star Game

“He is Alberta’s Big Maple.

That’s a fitting nickname for Okotoks Dawgs ace Graham Brunner, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 225 pounds.

“My weight/strength coach (Ryan Swenson) at Illinois State this year called me that (Big Maple) because we didn’t have too many Canadians and I’m a heavier set guy,” explained Brunner. “So I kind of ran with it.”

The 22-year-old lefty, whose Twitter handle is @BigMaple29, has done the nickname proud while fellow Canuck southpaw James Paxton (Big Maple in major league circles) recuperates from Tommy John surgery.

Brunner is 6-0 with a 3.04 ERA in eight starts for the first-place Dawgs and his performance has earned him a selection to the Western Canadian Baseball League All-Star Game, which will take place at Seaman Stadium in Okotoks, Alta., on Saturday.”

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SandlotsKevin Glew
Goodwin's walk-off Canada Day hit gives Bulls a Hollywood ending
Goodwin's walk-off Canada Day hit gives Bulls a Hollywood ending

“There’s heroes and there’s legends.

Heroes get remembered but legends never die.

Or at least that’s what a dream-conjured Babe Ruth told us in the classic baseball movie The Sandlot.

Where Brad Goodwin fits on that hero/legend scale is hard to know, but he delivered one of the most magical moments of the 2022 Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) season and it won’t be forgotten anytime soon.

So stirring was the sequence of events it reminded many in attendance – and others who saw the pictures and viral videos after – of something straight out of Hollywood.”

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SandlotsIan Wilson