The Dragons are not only the best ticket sellers in the High-A Midwest League, they often are in all of minor league baseball. They led all the minors in attendance last season, have led all Single-A franchises in each of their 22 seasons and have led all teams below the Triple-A level in each of the past 16 seasons.
Here are five more things to know about the streak:
1. The night it started: The streak began the night the Dragons debuted in Dayton after relocating from Rockford, Ill. They opened the season with a 16-game, five-city road trip while stadium construction was being completed. The Dragons opened the stadium April 27, 2000, and defeated Cedar Rapids 4-3. Austin Kearns scored the first Dayton run, Casey Bookout hit the first Dayton homer and starter Jim Manias earned the first Dayton victory.
2. Setting the streak record: The Dragons set the record on July 9, 2011, when they recorded their 815th consecutive sellout. They surpassed the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers’ record of 814 that was set from April 9, 1977 to Nov. 16, 1995.
Before they played baseball, the on-field celebration included Magic Johnson and Archie Griffin, who owned stakes in the team at that time, a five-minute video and streamers and balloons.
The Dragons defeated South Bend 9-1 in front of 8,688, who were also there to see Billy Hamilton run the bases. He led off the first inning with a single and stole second for his 62nd steal of the season. He forced an errant pickoff throw to move to third. Then Ronald Torreyes brought him home with a ground out for the 1-0 lead. Hamilton stole 103 bases that season.
3. Single-game attendance record: The Dragons drew 9,796 on July 22, 2015, against West Michigan. The Dragons lost 5-4 despite a big night by fan favorite Narciso Crook. He had four hits, a solo homer and three RBIs. Aristides Aquino also had two hits and an RBI.
4. Highest single-season attendance: The Dragons set the all-time Single-A record in 2010 with 597,433 fans for an average of 8,535 per game. However, it was not a good season on the field under manager Todd Benzinger. The Dragons were 53-85 and finished in eighth place. That team set the record for consecutive home losses at 24. Still, people came.
5. 2021 season didn’t count: Because of COVID-19 crowd restrictions the streak took a hiatus. The Dragons chose not to count that season in regards to the streak. If they had, the streak would have ended.
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