Dragons president/GM named executive of the year

Dayton Dragons president and GM Bob Murphy announced there will be additional netting that will cover all lower-level seating at Fifth Third Field next season. Murphy addressed media at the stadium on Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2016. MARC PENDLETON / STAFF

Credit: MARC PENDLETON / STAFF

Credit: MARC PENDLETON / STAFF

Dayton Dragons president and GM Bob Murphy announced there will be additional netting that will cover all lower-level seating at Fifth Third Field next season. Murphy addressed media at the stadium on Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2016. MARC PENDLETON / STAFF

Dayton Dragons president and general manager Robert Murphy has been selected Baseball Executive of the Year by Ballpark Digest for the 2019 season.

Individuals from all professional baseball leagues are considered for the annual award.

Previously, Murphy was named the Minor League Baseball Executive of the Year by Baseball America in 2018 and by the Sporting News in ’05.

“When all is said and done, our organization’s success results from an amazing group of people executing at high levels,” Murphy said in a statement. “I could not be more proud or more blessed to work with this group.”

The Dragons are a minor-league baseball Class A affiliate of the parent club Cincinnati Reds. Murphy has been in place since the Dragons started as an organization in 1999. The long-running summer baseball success at Fifth Third Field has been credited as a key component to the revitalization of downtown Dayton.

Dragons home games annually draw more than 8,000 spectators. The Dragons will enter the 2020 season with 1,385 consecutive sellouts at Fifth Third Field. That’s an all-time record among North American professional sports teams. Every Dragons home game has been a sellout since the team made its debut in 2000.

“The Dayton Dragons have been one of the biggest success stories in all of professional sports since the team’s launch, and Robert Murphy has been central to that success,” Ballpark Digest publisher Kevin Reichard said. “He’s overseen the team’s operations since the team’s inception, and the team’s current sellout streak represents an impressive accomplishment that may never be matched.”

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