80-763: The Dayton Dragons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds . They are located in Dayton, Ohio , and play their home games at Day Air Ballpark . 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 . The Dragons came to Dayton in 2000 as
160-564: A bid to obtain the ABC affiliation for Dayton to WKEF (channel 22); it soon thereafter filed for bankruptcy . WSWO-TV briefly returned to the air on June 17, 1972, under the ownership of Lester W. White, but fell silent again at the beginning of December after White defaulted on a loan. White was additionally discovered to have stolen equipment from multiple television stations, most notably WHIZ-TV in Zanesville , and arrested two days before
240-688: A championship pennant. The first true minor league is traditionally considered to be the Northwestern League of 1883 to 1884. Unlike the earlier minor associations, it was conceived as a permanent organization. It also, along with the NL and the American Association (AA), was a party to the National Agreement of 1883 . Included in this was the agreement to respect the reserve lists of clubs in each league. Teams in
320-630: A court ordered the station closed. The current incarnation of channel 26 dates from September 7, 1980, when Miami Valley Christian Television (MVCT) returned it to the air as a Christian -oriented station under the call sign WTJC (for "Witnessing 'Til Jesus Comes"). WTJC aired religious programming during most of its daytime and weekend schedule (including The 700 Club , PTL and Jerry Falwell ), although it also aired lifestyle programming such as The Joy of Gardening , cartoons , and children's programming in late weekday afternoon slots. There were also family-friendly reruns in early evenings and
400-490: A flat-fee purchase amount of $ 5,000 for the contract of any player from an NA member league team. This measure was leveled primarily at the Baltimore Orioles , then a Triple-A team that had dominated the minors by keeping players longer than many competitors, allowing the players to more fully develop, driving up their sale value to major-league teams and giving Baltimore a talent advantage. Deprived of this option by
480-667: A higher level of play. These leagues are intended almost exclusively to allow players to hone their skills; no admission is charged and no concessions are sold. As of the 2024 season, the Arizona Complex League and Florida Complex League seasons commence in early May and conclude in late July in order to provide players with previous experience in the Dominican Summer League with a full season in stateside professional baseball without having to compete for playing time with newly drafted players selected in
560-591: A limited membership which excluded less competitive and financially weaker teams. Professional clubs outside the NL responded by forming regional associations of their own. There was a series of ad hoc groupings, such as the New England Association of 1877 and the Eastern Championship Association of 1881. These were loose groups of independent clubs which agreed to play a series of games over the course of one season for
640-483: A local newscast. WTJC's Saturday schedule included westerns , sportsmen/hunting/wildlife shows, and The Lawrence Welk Show . When WRGT-TV signed on in 1984, MVCT sold most of its secular programming inventory to that station, and switched WTJC to a mostly-religious format (with the exception of a few children's shows, and Saturday morning sporting and hunting shows). Over the next few years, several ministries that bought time on WTJC became involved in scandals. Due to
720-475: A nightly half-hour prime time newscast for WBDT known as 2 News at 10 on Dayton's CW . On the 26th day of its broadcast, this show achieved higher ratings than WRGT-TV's nightly prime time news (produced by WKEF) in Dayton's metered market households. On July 21, 2012, WDTN began broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition. The WBDT shows were included in the upgrade. On January 7, 2013, WBDT began airing
800-403: A proposal to manage WTJC for 18 hours a day. MVCT declined and chose instead to sell the station to Paxson Communications in 1995. Paxson kept a similar lineup for WTJC, airing religious programming in early mornings, infomercials for most of the day and worship music overnight. On January 20, 1998, WTJC's call sign was changed to WDPX (for "Dayton Pax TV"). Accordingly, on August 31 of that year,
880-482: A result of the sale. The sale of WBDT was consummated on May 20, 2011. On March 4, 2011, LIN TV's contract with Dish Network expired, and all TV stations owned or operated by LIN, including both WBDT and WDTN, were pulled from Dish. On March 13, LIN and Dish entered into a retransmission consent agreement, and all affected channels were restored. On March 21, 2014, Media General announced that it would purchase LIN Media and its stations, including WDTN and
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#1732772320626960-481: A second or third promotion for a minor league player, although some high first-round draftees, particularly those with experience playing college baseball , begin at this level. Below the High-A level is Single-A, named "Class A" before 2021, when it was also known as Single-A or Full-Season A, and "Low-A" for the 2021 season. This classification has three leagues: the 8-team California League , known as Low-A West for
1040-516: A statement, asserting that it is "unnecessary and unacceptable to wipe out one-quarter of minor league teams" and characterized the proposal as a way "to improve the profitability of MLB". Manfred rebuked Minor League Baseball for releasing the negotiations to the public and threatened to cut ties with MiLB altogether. The following changes, which represent the first significant overhaul of minor league classifications since 1963, have since been implemented: When MLB teams announced their affiliates for
1120-526: A steady supply of players, as many NA and independent teams could not afford to keep their doors open without the patronage of Major League Baseball. The leagues of the NA became subordinate to the major leagues, creating the first minor leagues in the current sense of the term. Other than the Pacific Coast League (PCL), which under its president Pants Rowland tried to become a third major league in
1200-680: A subsidiary of Vaughan Media (owner of CW affiliate KNVA in Austin, Texas , which was also operated by LIN TV). LIN TV held a 4.5% equity stake in Vaughan Media, but controlled most of that company's voting stock, effectively making it a shell corporation for LIN TV. The FCC approved the sale and license transfer in April 2011; the commission also denied objections from area cable operators Time Warner Cable and Buckeye Cablevision , who claimed that retransmission fees for WBDT would increase as
1280-517: A temporary replacement. There are currently three leagues in this classification: the 12-team Eastern League , known as Double-A Northeast for the 2021 season, with teams in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the U.S., the eight-team Southern League (known as Double-A South for the 2021 season) with teams in the Deep South, and the 10-team Texas League (known as Double-A Central for
1360-416: A weekday news program from 7 to 9 a.m., called 2 News Today on Dayton's CW . Since the cancellation of The Daily Buzz, the station also simulcasts the 5 to 7 a.m. WDTN edition as well. On September 9, 2013, WBDT expanded the prime time 10 p.m. WDTN-produced newscast to an hour. The station's signal is multiplexed : WBDT shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 26, on June 12, 2009,
1440-493: Is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), including teams affiliated with MLB clubs. Entering the 2021 season, the number of full-season MLB-affiliated minor leagues with teams in the United States and Canada was reduced to 11, with a total of 120 teams (four per each of the 30 MLB franchises). There are also two affiliated rookie leagues based in the United States, with teams based at
1520-486: Is usually that these veteran players will be in the majors by the end of the season, as their salaries tend to be higher than those of most prospects. One level below Double-A is the High-A level, named "Class A-Advanced" before 2021. This classification has three leagues: the 12-team Midwest League , known as High-A Central for the 2021 season, covering the Midwest, the six-team Northwest League , known as High-A West for
1600-672: The Arizona Complex League and Florida Complex League , known as the Arizona League and Gulf Coast League, respectively, before 2021, and one Caribbean-based league, the Dominican Summer League . The U.S.-based Rookie leagues play a schedule of approximately 60 games and are named "complex leagues" because games are played at their parent clubs' spring training complexes. Rosters consist primarily of newly drafted players who are not yet ready for
1680-568: The Arizona Complex League or Florida Complex League , and international summer baseball teams in the Dominican Summer League . While major league teams play a 162-game schedule, minor league seasons are shorter. As of 2022 , a complete season in Triple-A is 150 games, Double-A is 138 games, and High-A and Single-A are each 132 games. In addition to the below organized leagues, the off-season Arizona Fall League has six teams that play approximately 30 games apiece in autumn, with rosters comprising
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#17327723206261760-676: The Dayton area as a de facto owned-and-operated station of The CW . It is owned by Vaughan Media , which maintains a local marketing agreement (LMA) with Nexstar Media Group , owner of NBC affiliate WDTN (channel 2) and majority owner of The CW, for the provision of certain services. The two stations share studios on South Dixie Drive in Moraine, Ohio . Through a channel sharing agreement , WBDT, along with Richmond, Indiana –licensed Ion Television O&O WKOI-TV (channel 43), share WDTN's digital channel from WDTN's transmitter facility on Frytown Road in southwest Dayton. WBDT serves as
1840-610: The National Association of Professional Base Ball Players of 1871 to 1875, commonly referred to as the National Association, comprised all fully professional teams. This system proved unworkable, however, as there was no way to ensure competitive balance, and financially unsound clubs often failed in midseason. This problem was solved in 1876 with the formation of the National League (NL), with
1920-695: The Northwest League and Midwest League promoted with 75% of their teams. The Carolina League dropped to Low-A with seven of its ten teams and added five from the old South Atlantic League in trade; the SAL in turn moved to High-A with half of its previous 12-team roster, filling it out with two Carolina League High-A holdovers, one Midwest League returnee, and three formerly short-season New York-Penn League promotees. On February 12, 2021, Major League Baseball announced new league alignments for all 120 affiliated Minor League Baseball clubs effective as of
2000-567: The United States Congress signed a letter sent to Commissioner of Baseball Rob Manfred opposing the proposal, noting that it "is not in the best interest of the overall game of baseball" and that it would "devastate our communities, their bond purchasers and other stakeholders affected by the potential loss of these clubs." A response from MLB highlighted that the proposal aims to improve player travel and working conditions. On November 21, 2019, Minor League Baseball released
2080-595: The 1950s and early 1960s. In 1949, the peak of the postwar minor league baseball boom, 448 teams in 59 leagues were members of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, with the number of teams falling to 324 in 1952, and 243 in 1955. By the end of 1963, only 15 leagues above Rookie-level survived in the United States and Canada. After the 1962 season, the Triple-A American Association—which had lost key markets such as Milwaukee , Kansas City , Minneapolis–Saint Paul and Houston to
2160-556: The 2016 season, WDTN sports director Jack Pohl has teamed with Nichols on Dragons television broadcasts. From 2001 to 2010, the Dragons television schedule included 15 games per season before the number of broadcasts was increased to 25 in 2011. The Dragons televised five games in their inaugural season of 2000. Dragons games were televised on WHIO-TV digital channel 7.2 (Time Warner Cable channels 23 and 372) from 2009 to 2015. Games were televised on Time Warner Cable from 2000 to 2008. Over
2240-523: The 2021 season on December 9, 2020, each of the 30 MLB teams had one affiliate at four levels—Triple-A, Double-A, High-A, and Low-A—for a total of 120 affiliated teams. Approximately 40 teams lost their MLB affiliations; the Fresno Grizzlies were demoted from Triple-A to Low-A; and the majority of surviving clubs at High-A and Low-A swapped levels, with the former Florida State League and California League dropped down nearly as intact units and
2320-466: The 2021 season) with teams in the Southwest and Great Plains. Some players jump to the majors from this level, as many of the top prospects are put here to play against each other rather than against minor and major league veterans in Triple-A. A small handful of players might be placed here to start, usually veterans from foreign leagues with more experience in professional baseball. The expectation
2400-486: The 2021 season, located entirely in California , the 12-team Carolina League , known as Low-A East for the 2021 season, and the 10-team Florida State League , known as Low-A Southeast for the 2021 season. All three leagues were demoted from High-A to Single-A effective with the 2021 season. These leagues are a mix of players moving up from Rookie leagues, as well as the occasional experienced first-year player. Most of
2480-673: The 2021 season, with teams in the Pacific Northwest, and the 12-team South Atlantic League , known as High-A East for the 2021 season, with teams in the eastern states. All three leagues were reclassified prior to the 2021 season, with the Midwest League and the South Atlantic League promoted from Single-A and the Northwest League promoted from Class A Short Season. This level of play is often
Dayton Dragons - Misplaced Pages Continue
2560-435: The 2021 season. Contrary to previously published reports indicating that realignment would retain the names of the existing minor leagues, Major League Baseball elected to abandon the names of existing minor leagues in favor of a new, class- and region-based naming system. Triple-A was divided into two leagues: WBDT WBDT (channel 26) is a television station licensed to Springfield, Ohio , United States, serving
2640-404: The 2022 season. The team's home park is Day Air Ballpark in Dayton, formerly (until 2020) known as Fifth Third Field. During its first season, the Dragons set a Minor League Baseball Class-A single-season attendance record of 581,853. The Dragons broke that record in 2003 and again in 2004. The Dragons broke the record again in 2010 with a season attendance total of 597,433, which still stands as
2720-470: The Class-A record. The Dragons have averaged 8,258 fans per game over their 21-year history (through the 2021 season). They have led the Class-A level in attendance in all 24 years of their existence and have finished first among all teams below the Triple-A level for 18 straight seasons, from 2006 to 2019 and in 2021-24 (there was no season in 2020). In 2022, the Dragons' per-game average attendance of 7,935
2800-535: The Dayton Dragons, including the years they played in Dayton. The Dragons have had 12 managers in their history: Additionally, past Dragons coaching staffs have included three inductees into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame as players: Radio: All Dragons home and road games are broadcast on radio on 980 WONE , with Tom Nichols as the lead broadcaster. The broadcasts are also available via
2880-522: The Dominican Summer League who have not yet been assigned to a domestic affiliate, as well as players placed on the minor league 60-day and full-season injured lists—during the minor league season, with a limit of 175 domestic players during the offseason. During the minor league season, the following roster limits for each classification are used: Triple-A Double-A High-A Single-A Rookie Off-season leagues Showcase league Partner leagues The earliest professional baseball league,
2960-603: The July Major League Baseball draft . This adjusted schedule also allows the top Rookie-level prospects in each organization to be promoted to class Single-A for the final two months of the professional baseball season upon the conclusion of the complex league seasons. As of the 2024 season, each major league club may have no more than 165 players assigned to the rosters of their domestic affiliates (i.e., Triple-A, Double-A, High-A, Single-A, and complex-league Rookie)—excluding international players assigned to
3040-553: The Major Leagues since 1953—disbanded. The surviving International and Pacific Coast leagues absorbed the four remaining American Association franchises. Meanwhile, at the Double-A level and below there were even more significant changes: Designations below Class A disappeared because the lower levels could not sustain operation during a large downturn in the financial fortunes of minor league baseball, due to factors including
3120-625: The NL and the AA could only reserve players who had been paid at least $ 1,000. Northwestern League teams could reserve players paid $ 750, implicitly establishing the division into major and minor leagues. Over the next two decades, more minor leagues signed various versions of the National Agreement. Eventually, the minor leagues allied to negotiate jointly. In the late 1890s, the Western League run by Ban Johnson decided to challenge
3200-581: The NL's position. In 1900, he changed the name of the league to the American League (AL) and vowed to make deals to sign contracts with players who were dissatisfied with the pay and terms of their deals with the NL. This led to a turf war that heated up in 1901 enough to concern Patrick T. Powers , president of the Eastern League, and many other minor league owners about the conflict potentially affecting their organizations. Representatives of
3280-610: The SSA and JSA with WBDT, in a $ 1.6 billion merger. The FCC approved the merger on December 12, 2014, but a condition of the deal required Media General to end the JSA between WBDT and WDTN due to tighter scrutiny of such deals by the FCC. Media General received a two-year waiver to end the JSA between WDTN and WBDT. The merger was completed on December 19. A carriage dispute with Dish Network, beginning at 7 p.m. on December 2, 2020, resulted in
Dayton Dragons - Misplaced Pages Continue
3360-607: The Texas League, which had last operated in 1942, and the Southern Association) became Class AA. Class A remained the third-highest classification, with lower levels still ranked Class B through Class D in descending order, with Class D being the equivalent of later Rookie leagues. The impact of the Korean War in 1950 caused a player shortage in many cities below Class B. In 1952, the "Open" classification
3440-671: The Triple-A Inter–American League (1979). None lasted more than a full season. In October 2019, Baseball America reported that Major League Baseball had proposed dramatic changes to MiLB that would take effect after expiration of the Professional Baseball Agreement, which governed the MLB–MiLB relationship, at the end of the 2020 season. This included the elimination of many minor league teams. In mid-November 2019, more than 100 members of
3520-474: The Triple-A level. Such players are eligible to be added to a team's active major league roster. For teams in contention for a playoff spot late in a season, it gives them fresh players, while for teams not in contention, it gives them an opportunity to evaluate their second-tier players against major league competition. Some Triple-A players are "career minor leaguers", former prospects whose skill growth has halted and who are not likely to advance to MLB, unless as
3600-691: The Western states, the other leagues maintained autonomy in name only, being totally economically dependent upon the AL and NL. In 1922, the United States Supreme Court decision Federal Baseball Club v. National League (259 U.S. 200), which grants baseball a special immunity from antitrust laws , had a major effect on the minor leagues. The special immunity meant that the AL and NL could dictate terms under which every independent league did business. By 1925, major league baseball established
3680-491: The current WBDT. ACME ran the station as a dual WB and Pax affiliate, signing a five-year affiliation deal with Pax upon the sale of the station from Paxson. As a dual WB and Pax affiliate, WBDT aired a mix of syndicated, WB and Pax TV programming. WBDT maintained a secondary affiliation with Pax until mid-2004 at the latest, airing its prime time lineup on weekday mornings from 9 a.m. to noon, early Sunday mornings from 1 to 4 a.m., and early Monday mornings from midnight to 4 a.m. In
3760-733: The default CW affiliate for the Lima market , which had been served by cable-only affiliate West Central Ohio CW until early 2010. Channel 26 first appeared in southwest Ohio on July 14, 1968, as independent WSWO-TV, under the ownership of Southwestern Ohio Television. WSWO-TV ran a local live version of Bozo the Clown (portrayed by announcer Dave Eaton, who was previously with the former WKTR-TV in Kettering , now PBS member station WPTD [channel 16]), as well as other local shows. The station suddenly went dark on June 19, 1970, after it lost
3840-615: The different minor leagues met at the Leland Hotel in Chicago on September 5, 1901. In response to the NL–AL battle, they agreed to form the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues (NAPBL), sometimes shortened to National Association (NA), which would later adopt the trade name "Minor League Baseball". The purpose of the NAPBL at the time was to maintain the independence of
3920-634: The end of the 2024 season), an all-time record for sports in North America. In 2014, the founding ownership group, Peter Guber 's Mandalay Baseball Properties , sold the team to Palisades Arcadia Baseball LLC, led by Greg Rosenbaum , Nicholas Sakellariadis, and Michael Savit. Through the 2023 season, 143 Dragons players have gone on to play in Major League Baseball since the team's move to Dayton in 2000. The following are notable players whose minor league career included playing for
4000-742: The first in the area (and one of the few in the entire country) to broadcast in a 1080i high definition 16:9 format 24 hours a day, broadcasting on digital UHF channel 18. On June 4, 2010, it was announced that the LIN TV Corporation (owner of WDTN) would begin to operate WBDT through shared service and joint sales agreements. WBDT was to leave its longtime studios on Corporate Place, off Byers Road in Miamisburg , in October and move to WDTN's facility in Moraine. As of January 27, 2013,
4080-435: The flat-fee policy, minor league teams had little choice but to sell players as soon as they drew major-league interest. The earliest classifications used in the minor leagues began circa 1890, for teams that were party to the National Agreement of 1883. The different levels represented different levels of protection for player contracts and reserve clauses : After the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues
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#17327723206264160-446: The following assignments entering the 1902 season: Additional classifications added prior to World War II included: In 1946, with the minor leagues poised for unprecedented growth, the higher-level classifications were changed. Class AAA ("Triple-A") was created and the three Double-A circuits (the Pacific Coast League , International League , and the American Association ) were reclassified into Triple-A. Class A1 (comprising
4240-638: The former WBDT studio facility is now occupied by Sinclair Broadcast Group 's virtual duopoly of ABC affiliate WKEF and Fox affiliate WRGT-TV (the move made them the last network-affiliated stations in Dayton to have upgraded their local programming, including newscasts, to high definition). Three months after ACME and LIN TV reached their operations and sales agreements, LIN TV exercised an option to purchase WBDT along with another LIN TV-operated ACME station, fellow CW affiliate WCWF in Green Bay, Wisconsin . LIN TV requested that WBDT's license be assigned to
4320-572: The franchise was relocated from Rockford, Illinois . The franchise was previously known as the Rockford Expos (then Royals, Cubbies, and Reds). In 2021, the Dragons and 11 other teams that had previously competed in the Midwest League entered the High-A Central as Major League Baseball completed a large restructuring of Minor League Baseball. This was a temporary name change, with the historical "Midwest League" moniker returning for
4400-467: The internet at daytondragons.com and wone.com and on mobile devices via the Dragons mobile app. Dragons radio broadcasts moved to WONE starting with the 2011 season after Dragons games aired on WING 1410 AM from 2003 to 2010 and on WHIO 1290 AM from 2000 to 2002. Nichols has served as the Dragons Director of Broadcasting and lead play-by-play announcer since the 2008 season. Mike Vander Woude was
4480-451: The later stages of the negotiations to develop rules for the acquisition of players from their leagues by the NL and the AL. The 1903 agreement ensured that teams would be compensated for the players that they had taken the time and effort to scout and develop, and no NA team was required to sell their players, although most did because the cash was an important source of revenue for most teams. The NA leagues were still fiercely independent, and
4560-539: The leagues involved. Several did not sign the agreement and continued to work independently. Powers was made the first president of the NAPBL, whose offices were established in Auburn, New York . In 1903, the conflict between the AL and NL ended in the National Agreement of 1903 , which created the National Baseball Commission to oversee the major and minor leagues. The NAPBL became involved in
4640-584: The minor leagues, such as Buzz Arlett , Jigger Statz , Ike Boone , Buddy Ryan , Earl Rapp , and Frank Shellenback , as comparable to major league players. Leagues in the NA would not be truly called minor until Branch Rickey developed the first modern farm system in the 1930s. The Commissioner of Baseball , Kenesaw Mountain Landis fought Rickey's scheme, but, ultimately, the Great Depression drove teams to establish systems like Rickey's to ensure
4720-455: The network's programming with off-network sitcoms, talk shows, infomercials, and court shows. On September 18, 2006, WBDT became the market 's CW outlet after The WB and UPN merged. It became a strong affiliate with the new network in terms of prime time ratings—strong enough for The CW to designate WBDT the "#1 CW affiliate" in the nation in March 2007. In that same month, the station became
4800-419: The official date on which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 18 to channel 26 for post-transition operations. Initially, WBDT aired a standard definition simulcast of its HD programming on its DT2 subchannel. After several months, this subchannel
4880-597: The other two leagues, as part of a reorganization of the Triple-A level in 1997. The International League features teams from the Atlantic coast and midwestern U.S., while the Pacific Coast League features teams from the Pacific coast and the southwest. Both young players and veterans play for Triple-A teams. Parent clubs often hold players who are on the 40-man roster , but not on the active MLB roster, at
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#17327723206264960-591: The parent clubs' spring training complexes in Arizona and Florida , an off-season autumn league, and one affiliated rookie league in the Dominican Republic . Additionally, four independent leagues are in association with MiLB. As of the 2022 season, the minor league system is divided into four classes: Triple-A (AAA), Double-A (AA), High-A (A+), and Single-A (A). Major League Baseball franchises may also maintain one or two complex-based rookie teams in
5040-536: The removal of WBDT and sister station WDTN from the platform, along with 164 Nexstar stations in 115 markets. On September 16, 2002, the nationally syndicated morning show The Daily Buzz premiered from WBDT's studios. The program, then produced by then-parent ACME Communications, remained based at the station until its August 2004 move to the facilities of former sister station WKCF in Lake Mary, Florida , near Orlando . On August 18, 2007, WDTN began to produce
5120-608: The rise of television broadcasts of major league sports across broad regions of the country. As part of the 1963 reorganization, Major League clubs increased their commitments to affiliate with minor league teams through Player Development Contracts, outright ownerships, or shared affiliations and co-op arrangements. The minor league system that evolved following the 1963 reorganization remained in place through 2020, categorizing leagues into one of six classes: Triple-A (AAA), Double-A (AA), Class A-Advanced (High A or A+), Class A (Low A), Class A Short Season, and Rookie. Furthermore, Rookie
5200-504: The scandals, donations to the ministries, and to MVCT, declined. The primary owner of MVCT, Marvin Sparks, bought out his partners' shares in 1991 and in turn sold them to Video Mall Communications. WTJC then aired home shopping and paid programming eighteen hours a day, with religious shows the rest of the broadcast day. In the mid-1990s, Abry Communications (which had purchased WRGT-TV's owner, Act III Broadcasting ) approached MVCT with
5280-505: The sellout streak was in jeopardy at the beginning of the 2023 season, the streak reached 1,500 games on August 26, 2023. According to the official team website, every home game in the team's first 20 years (prior to the canceled 2020 season) was a sellout. The streak (which was "paused" in 2020 due to the season being cancelled, and again in 2021 due to all minor league ballparks opening with reduced capacity due to COVID-19 restrictions) now stands at 1,573 consecutive sold-out home games (through
5360-550: The station became a charter affiliate of Pax (now Ion Television ). In June 1999, Paxson sold the station to ACME Communications , which dropped half of Pax's programming for a primary affiliation with The WB , along with syndicated programming. The previous WB affiliate was low-power station WUCT-LP (now WRCX-LD ); WB programming in the Dayton area could also be seen on the WGN cable channel and on Columbus WB affiliate WWHO . On June 9, 1999, ACME also changed WDPX's call sign to
5440-439: The station's early days as a WB affiliate, Pax's flagship Touched by an Angel continued to air at its regularly scheduled time of 7 p.m., leading into WB prime time programming. In 2004, Diagnosis Murder was moved to 1 p.m., while the remainder of Pax's programming was moved to overnights. The station finally dropped the remainder of Pax's programming in September 2004, filling the morning hours previously programmed with
5520-437: The team's primary broadcaster from 2000 to 2007. All home and road games have been broadcast throughout the Dragons history. Television: The Dragons have televised 25 games per season since the 2011 season with Dragons Director of Broadcasting Tom Nichols serving as the lead announcer. In 2016, telecasts moved to WBDT (Dayton's CW) as games appeared on an over-the-air network station for the first time in Dragons history. Since
5600-409: The teams in the Florida State League are owned by major league parent clubs and use their spring training complexes. In 2022, the official name of the class became Single-A. Minor leagues with the Rookie classification play a shortened season that traditionally began in mid-June and ended in late August or early September. This lowest level of minor league baseball consists of two US-based leagues,
5680-404: The term minor was seldom used in reference to them, save by the major-market sportswriters. Sports news, like most news generally, often did not travel far in the days before radio and television, so, while the leagues often bristled at the major market writers' descriptions, they viewed themselves as independent sports businesses. Many baseball writers of that time regarded the greatest players of
5760-513: The time it seemed like the PCL would eventually become a third major league. The PCL would revert to Triple-A in 1958, due to increasing television coverage of major league games and in light of the Dodgers and Giants moving to Los Angeles and San Francisco , respectively. A significant reorganization of the minor leagues took place in 1963, caused by the contraction of clubs and leagues during
5840-439: The top prospects associated with each of the six MLB divisions. This classification currently includes two affiliated leagues: the 20-team International League and the 10-team Pacific Coast League , known as Triple-A East and Triple-A West, respectively, for the 2021 season. For most of the 20th century, Triple-A also included the American Association , based in the Midwest, but that league disbanded with its clubs absorbed by
5920-829: The years, Dragons color commentators on television broadcasts have included Joe Nuxhall , Ken Griffey Sr. , Tom Browning , Ron Oester , Bill Doran , Tommy Helms , Todd Benzinger , Doug Bair , Jeff Reboulet , and Hal McCoy , among others. Pitchers Catchers Infielders Outfielders Manager Coaches 60-day injured list [REDACTED] 7-day injured list * On Cincinnati Reds 40-man roster ~ Development list # Rehab assignment ∞ Reserve list ‡ Restricted list § Suspended list † Temporarily inactive list Roster updated August 31, 2024 Transactions → More rosters: MiLB • Midwest League → Cincinnati Reds minor league players Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball ( MiLB )
6000-410: Was created. The Pacific Coast League (PCL), which had been rated Triple-A since 1946, was the only minor league to obtain this classification, which it held through 1957. At this time, the major leagues only extended as far west as St. Louis, Missouri , and as far south as Washington, D.C. This classification severely restricted the rights of the major leagues to draft players out of the PCL, and at
6080-400: Was dropped. On September 26, 2011, WBDT began airing Bounce TV on DT2, becoming a charter affiliate of the network. On November 30, 2015, WBDT added a third subchannel to carry Ion Television (the network was also added by other Media General stations); the station had carried Pax, the forerunner of Ion Television, as a secondary affiliate, ending in 2004. On February 1, 2018, Ion Television
6160-454: Was first among all 120 teams across Minor League Baseball. On July 9, 2011, the Dragons officially set a new record of 815 consecutive sellout home 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 to 1995. On May 10, 2014, the streak of consecutive sellouts reached 1,000 games. After announcing
6240-422: Was founded in 1901, classifications were redefined: † Draft fee set an amount for a team in a higher class to select a player; n/a for Class A as it would be up to each team to negotiate with an interested major league club. ‡ Protection fee reserved a player to a team, even after a contract expired, preventing the player for seeking employment with any other team. All minor leagues were classified, and had
6320-519: Was further informally subdivided into Rookie Advanced, complex-based Rookie, and international summer baseball. There have also been some failed start-up leagues. During the 1970s, three official minor leagues (members of NAPBL) attempted unsuccessfully to revive unaffiliated baseball (teams not associated with specific MLB franchises) within the organized baseball structure. These were the Class A Gulf States League (1976) and Lone Star League (1977), and
6400-481: Was moved to sister station WDTN's DT3 subchannel, replacing the Justice Network ; WBDT's third subchannel was dropped. On April 14, 2017, it was reported that WBDT's over-the-air spectrum had been sold in the FCC's spectrum reallocation auction, fetching $ 27.3 million, with the FCC listing the station as set to go off the air. However, Joe Abouzeid, president and general manager of the station, characterized
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