MWL1 Dayton Dragons

Dragons on TV Thursday, Friday, Saturday

Published on April 17, 2012 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Dayton Dragons News Release


DAYTON, OHIO-Dayton Dragons games this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, April 19-21, will be televised from Fifth Third Field on WHIO Digital Channel 7.2 (Time Warner Basic Cable Channel 23 and Digital Channel 372). All three games begin at 7:05 p.m. against the Quad Cities River Bandits.

Former Cincinnati Reds first baseman and Dragons manager Todd Benzinger will serve as the guest commentator on Thursday's telecast. Former Reds pitcher and Dragons pitching coach Doug Bair will handle the duties on Friday. WHIO TV Sports Director Mike Hartsock will provide commentary on Saturday. Dragons Director of Broadcasting and Media Relations Tom Nichols will handle the play-by-play on all 25 Dragons 2012 telecasts.

Benzinger was the Dragons manager for the 2009 and 2010 seasons and a key member of the Cincinnati Reds 1990 World Series champions. He recorded the final out of the '90 World Series when he caught a foul pop off the bat of Oakland's Carney Lansford in the ninth inning of game four. He spent nine years as a player in the major leagues with the Reds, Red Sox, Royals, Dodgers, and Giants, playing in 924 major league games.

In 1990, he appeared in nine of the Reds' 10 post-season games including all four World Series games after playing in 118 regular season games for Cincinnati and batting .253. He concluded his major league playing career in 1995. Benzinger is a Cincinnati-area native. He was an All-American at New Richmond (Ohio) High School and now resides in West Chester. Following his playing days, Benzinger enjoyed a highly-successful career coaching girls' high school basketball in the Cincinnati area from 1999-2009.

Bair spent 15 seasons in the major leagues and appeared in 584 games with the Reds, Pirates, A's, Tigers, Cardinals, Phillies, and Blue Jays. His best season came with the Reds in 1978 when he finished third in the National League in saves with 28, going 7-6 with a 1.97 earned run average. He was a member of two World Series champions, the 1982 Cardinals and the '84 Tigers. Bair was the Dragons pitching coach for two seasons, 2007-'08.

Hartsock has served as Sports Director at WHIO TV since 1989. He has covered the Miami Valley for nearly 35 years, first as a news reporter for WHIO Radio before moving to the news beat for WHIO TV and then moving into sports there in 1982. He has covered three Super Bowls, the 1990 World Series, and the 1996 Olympics. He is a native of Waynesville.

The Dragons will televise 25 games from Fifth Third Field this season. The telecasts are produced by the Dragons' in-house production crew. Among others scheduled for appearances as guest commentators are:

* Hall-of-fame baseball writer Hal McCoy

* Former major league star second baseman Bill Doran

* Former Reds infielder Chris Sexton

* Former Reds Assistant Director of Player Development Grant Griesser

* Reds Assistant Director of Media Relations Jamie Ramsey (author of the blog "Better Off Red")

* Ohio State University head baseball coach Greg Beals

* Former Dragons pitcher Matt Klinker

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