Dayton_Dragons

Dayton Dragons

The Dayton Dragons are a Class A minor league baseball team affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds. They play in the Midwest League.

The Midwest League came to Dayton in 2000. They were previously a franchise based in Rockford, Illinois (1988-99).

2007 season

Donnie Scott returned to the Dayton Dragons in 2007 for his second stint with Dayton. Scott is currently the winningest manager in Dragons' history. Doug Bair joined the Dragons in 2007 as pitching coach and Darren Bragg joined as hitting coach for the 2007 season.

Some players that started with the 2007 Dragons team are Chris Valaika, Drew Stubbs, Justin Turner, Logan Parker, Juan Francisco, Chris Heisey, Denis Phipps, and pitchers Travis Webb, Sean Watson, Jose Rojas, Anthony Gressick, and Lee Tabor.

The Dragons began the 2007 season by posting a 29-9 (.763) record through May 18, 2007, seven games ahead of the West Michigan Whitecaps.

First Half Standings

Team	Wins	Loses	Win%	Games Back
Dayton Dragons	44	26	.629	--
West Michigan Whitecaps	38	32	.543	6.0
Lansing Lugnuts	35	34	.507	8.5
Great Lakes Loons	34	36	.486	10.0
South Bend Silver Hawks	34	36	.486	10.0
Fort Wayne Wizards	31	38	.449	12.5

2008 season

On July 24, 2008 the Dayton Dragons and Peoria Chiefs were involved in a brawl at Fifth Third Field. The game had gotten heated after multiple players were hit by pitches. Donnie Scott complained to the home plate umpire. Chiefs interim manager Carmelo Martínez came out and the two managers were yelling at each other. When Martinez pushed Scott the benches cleared and then Chiefs pitcher, Julio Castillo, threw a ball toward the Dragons dugout. The ball was high and wide and hit a fan in the second row. The fan was injured and taken to the hospital. Castillo was arrested for felony assault by the Dayton City police. The brawl delayed the game 69 minutes; fifteen players and both managers were ejected . After discussions Midwest League president George Spelius reversed all the ejections. Each team would have had to place pitchers in the outfield for the remaining eight innings of play.

The park

The team's home park is Fifth Third Field in Dayton, Ohio. During its first season the Dragons set a class A baseball attendance record of 581,853. That record was broken in 2003 when 590,382 fans — ranking seventh in all of minor league baseball — went through the turnstiles.

The Dragons average 8,375 fans per game, or 116% of capacity. The Dragons have been the top Class A team in attendance every year of their existence, and have set and re-broken the record for Class A attendance three times. On April 17, 2007, the Dragons enjoyed their 500th consecutive sellout, believed to be the longest current streak in professional sports.

Personnel

Some notable pros who have played for the Dayton Dragons are Austin Kearns, José Acevedo, Adam Dunn, Edwin Encarnacion, Todd Coffey, John Koronka, Stephen Smitherman, Ray Olmedo, Rob Madritsch, Brian Reith, Wily Mo Peña, Josh Hall, Ryan Snare, William Bergolla, Chris Denorfia, Miguel Perez, Chris Booker, Dustin Moseley, Johnny Cueto, Jay Bruce and Homer Bailey.

The Dragons have had 4 managers in their short history: Freddie Benavides (2000), Donnie Scott (2001-2003),(2007, 2008), Alonzo Powell (2004-2005) and Billy Gardner, Jr. (2006).

The Dragons are broadcast on ESPN Radio 1410, with Tom Nichols and Owen Serey as the broadcasters.

References

Dinda, J. (2003), "Dayton, Ohio, in the Midwest League," http://www.mwlguide.com/cities/dayton/index.html
"2003 Minor League Attendance by Team," http://www.ballparkwatch.com/features/attendance_by_team_2003.htm
DaytonDragons.com