Puneet Varma (Editor)

Dayton Dragons

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Team logo
  
Division
  
Eastern Division

Founded
  
1988

Current
  
Class A

League titles (0)
  
None

Ballpark
  
Fifth Third Field (2000–)

Dayton Dragons samekittyhawkpostorgwpcontentuploads201511d

Current
  
Cincinnati Reds (1999–present)

Previous
  
Chicago Cubs (1995–1998) Kansas City Royals (1993–1994) Montreal Expos (1988–1992)

Leagues
  
Minor League Baseball, Minor League Baseball Class A, National League East, Midwest League

National anthem dayton dragons baseball


The Dayton Dragons are a Class A minor league baseball team playing in the Midwest League based in Dayton, Ohio. The Dragons are affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds. Their home stadium is Fifth Third Field. In 2011, they broke the record for most consecutive sellouts by a professional sports team, selling out their 815th consecutive game, breaking the record formerly held by the Portland Trail Blazers.

Contents

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The Dragons came to Dayton in 2000. They were previously a franchise based in Rockford, Illinois, and were called the Rockford Expos (1988–1992), Rockford Royals (1993–1994), Rockford Cubbies (1995–1998), and Rockford Reds (1999).

Dayton Dragons Dayton Dragons and Fifth Third Field City of Dayton

More to the dayton dragons than baseball


Fifth Third Field

The team's home park is Fifth Third Field in Dayton. During its first season the Dragons set a class A baseball attendance record of 581,853. Dayton broke that record in 2003 when 590,382 fans—ranking seventh in all of minor league baseball—went through the turnstiles, and again in 2004 with 593,663 paying fans.

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.

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On July 9, 2011, the Dragons officially set a new record of 815 consecutive sellout games. The sellout streak is the longest across all professional sports in the US, passing the previous record set by the Portland Trail Blazers from 1977–1995. On May 10, 2014, the streak of consecutive sellouts reached 1,000 games. According to the official team website, every game in the team's 15-year existence has been a sellout. The Dragons consecutive game sell-out streak has continued through the 2016 season. The streak now stands at 1,188 consecutive sold-out games, an all-time record for sports in North America.

Ownership

In Summer of 2014 founding ownership group Mandalay Baseball Properties sold the team to Palisades Arcadia Baseball LLC.

Achievements


  • The team was voted as one of the top ten hottest tickets in all of professional sports by Sports Illustrated.
  • The Dragons have led the Midwest League and all of Single A baseball in total season attendance since 2011.
  • On July 9, 2011, they set the new record of the most consecutive sold out games (815 total) in all of professional sports. As of the end of the 2016 season, the still-in-progress record stands at 1,188 straight games.
  • In 2011, Ballpark Digest named the Dragons the "Minor League Baseball Organization of the Year." This honor came during a year in which they set the all-time professional sports sellout streak of 815 (they finished the season at 843 consecutive sellouts); finished 1st in the Midwest League Eastern Division and had the overall best Midwest League record (.593); set franchise records for wins (83–57), wins in a half (48–22 during the second half, which was also the best record among the 80 teams in the seven full-season Minor League Baseball leagues that split their seasons), road wins (38), and wins in a month (22 in August); set franchise records for team ERA (3.39) and shutout wins (14); set a Midwest League pitching record for strikeouts (1,292); and set a franchise record for stolen bases (224, including 103 by shortstop Billy Hamilton, which was the 9th highest total ever for a Minor Leaguer).
  • In 2012, the Dragons were a finalist team for the Sports Business Journal "Professional Sports Team of the Year."
  • In 2016, Forbes listed the Dragons as the third-most valuable Minor League Baseball team with a value of $45 million, making them the most valuable Class A minor league franchise.
  • In 2012, the Dragons franchise was selected as the winner of the John H. Johnson President's Trophy. The winning team, chosen from all minor league teams (Single A, Double A, and Triple A), is chosen by the president of Minor League Baseball and given to "the complete baseball franchise -- based on franchise stability, contributions to league stability, contributions to baseball in the community, and promotion of the baseball industry." Only two other Midwest Leagues teams have received this award.
  • Site of the Midwest League All-Star Games in 2001 and 2013
  • Major league alumni

    Sixty-seven Dragons players have gone on to play in MLB since the team's move to Dayton in 2000. The following are notable players whose minor league career included playing for the Dayton Dragons, including the years they played in Dayton.

  • Austin Kearns ('00)
  • Adam Dunn ('00)
  • Wily Mo Peña ('01)
  • Edwin Encarnación ('01–'02)
  • Ryan Hanigan ('02–'03)
  • Todd Coffey ('02–'03)
  • Joey Votto ('03–'04)
  • Chris Dickerson ('04)
  • Homer Bailey ('05)
  • Johnny Cueto ('06)
  • Adam Rosales ('06)
  • Jay Bruce ('06)
  • Logan Ondrusek ('06)
  • Drew Stubbs ('07)
  • Chris Heisey ('07)
  • Devin Mesoraco ('08)
  • Todd Frazier ('08)
  • Didi Gregorius ('10)
  • Billy Hamilton ('11)
  • Personnel

    The Dragons have had nine managers in their history:

  • Freddie Benavides (2000)
  • Donnie Scott (2001–2003, 2007–2008)
  • Alonzo Powell (2004–2005)
  • Billy Gardner, Jr. (2006)
  • Todd Benzinger (2009–2010)
  • Delino DeShields (2011–2012)
  • José Nieves (2013–2015)
  • Dick Schofield (2016)
  • Luis Bolivar (2017–present)
  • Media

    All Dragons home and road games are broadcast on radio on 980 WONE, with Tom Nichols as the broadcaster. The broadcasts are also available via the internet at daytondragons.com and wone.com and on mobile devices via the Dragons mobile app.

    The Dragons began televising games on WHIO-TV digital channel 7.2 (Time Warner Cable channels 23 and 372) on April 9, 2009, eventually airing 25 games per season. Tom Nichols handled the play-by-play. Guest color commentators in 2014 included Billy Hamilton, Ken Griffey Sr., Ron Oester, Bill Doran, Doug Bair, Todd Benzinger, Hal McCoy, Josh Hall, and Chris Sexton among others. Starting with the April 9. 2016 home opener, telecasts have moved to WBDT, which will air 25 home games per season.

    References

    Dayton Dragons Wikipedia