Nat Bailey Stadium

So again, what you guys have done to make that a goldenized venue is really second to none.

When they ask me about Nat Bailey Stadium, because I've been there for so many years, I tell them about how good the shower pressure is at that stadium that nobody knows of.

Is there some quirk about the Coliseum that the average fan might not know about that you know because you've been behind the scenes? Is there one thing about that arena that just makes it cooler than the rest?

I mean, yes, but it's no secret.

So good.

Your hometown park here, Nat Bailey Stadium, they sell a three foot hot dog.

Three foot hot dog.

I know you hear me say it, but I need to know you're picturing it.

Of course, that's a very large market for a high-A stadium.

And great, great atmosphere at Nate Bailey Stadium, which opened in 1951.

I believe the oldest ballpark on this list among attendance leaders.

Greenville Drive.

What a week it was in Vancouver for the Blue Jays Academy Canadian Futures Showcase.

After four days in front of dozens of scouts while family, friends, and baseball fans looked on, the best high school players in the country converged on Rogers Field at Nat Bailey Stadium for the final day of competition Sunday.

And it all started with the Home Run Derby, where Alberta was looking to extend its three-year streak of producing winners, thanks to the efforts of Nathan Flewelling in 2023, Tim Piacentini in 2024, and Darryl Rodriguez in 2025.

Rodriguez was back this year to defend his crown, taking on five other players in the opening round.

well again congrats on making your way up here congrats on your performance tonight best of luck the rest of the way thank you so much yeah absolutely And we'll wrap things up with another coach, Mid-Island Pirates coach Lars Bauk is originally from the Moose Jaw area and spent a season with Prairie Baseball Academy before moving out west.

He was actually one of the first people I met on the bus going from the hotel to Nat Bailey Stadium and it felt like his story was one worth telling here on the show.

Lars, welcome to the show.

First off, Canadian Future Showcase, let's start there.

Absolutely.

And, uh, of course, David spent most of his summer at Nat Bailey Stadium in line to get all of the giveaways on Tuesdays and other days that were giveaways.

He's making a man cave filled with Vancouver Canadians giveaways.

You gotta follow him on Twitter and on Insta to see the Quadrelli man cave.

Welcome to episode 421 of Alberta Dugout Stories, the podcast.

I'm Joe McFarland, and this is day one of the Blue Jays Academy Canadian Future Showcase live from Rogers Field at Knapp Bailey Park in Vancouver.

Yes, we've taken the show on the road again, just like we did with the Road to Okotoks and the Morneau Cup in July.

We're going daily with our shows, and we'll bring you fresh stories up on our websites as well.

The, uh...

D- d- you know, it can be tough at Nat Bailey Stadium, depending on what the weather is, to, to hit.

D- but did you not find that? Did you feel yourself very comfortable there?

Yeah.

So that was a pretty cool moment.

We, I mean, hard not to be emotional.

I, uh, I've been a sea- season ticket member for an awfully long time and know a lot of them, and the number of texts I got with, "That was the best ballgame I have ever seen at Nat Bailey Stadium," was, uh, tremendous.

You were gonna say?