Quote in the paper…
Posted on 22. May, 2010 by Corey in All, Dayton Dragons Baseball, General Baseball.
Always nice to get your name in the paper…Even if no one I know gets the Dayton Daily News…
STORY HERE or below
By Sean McClelland, Staff WriterUpdated 7:15 AM Friday, May 21, 2010
DAYTON — While driving to Fifth Third Field from Beavercreek, Dayton Dragons clubhouse manager Corey Brinn thought little about the morning fog.
Then he noticed how dark it was.
“First I thought it was smoke from a factory,” Brinn said. “When I got closer, I was like, ‘Oh, no!’ ”
The all-day fire at Franklin Iron and Metal, less than a mile from their ballpark, certainly grabbed the Dayton Dragons’ attention Thursday, May 20, before they were beaten 3-2 by the Lansing Lugnuts, who swept a three-game series.
“The fire was pretty big when I drove by,” said catcher Mark Fleury, who was headed to Carmen’s Deli on North Main to grab lunch.
With toxins potentially fouling the air, city officials initially advised those within a two-mile radius of the blaze to remain indoors, conceivably jeopardizing the Lansing series finale.
“It’s very strange,” catcher Kevin Coddington said when told the game could have been postponed. “I’ve never heard of anything like this.”
“Hey, are we all going to die?” center fielder Andrew Means playfully shouted in the clubhouse to no one in particular.
Officials lifted the advisory about three hours before the 7 p.m. start, and the show went on, albeit with an air-monitoring device affixed to the roof. By game time the plume of smoke beyond center field had all but blended with the clouds.
“We were concerned about the situation the entire day,” said Gary Mayse, the Dragons’ executive vice president and general manager. “We had constant communication with local officials. It worked out very well for all parties involved.”
On what will go down as one of the stranger days in the Dragons’ 11-year history, neither team took outdoor batting practice, but both teams’ pitchers did their pregame work outside with the stay-indoors directive still in effect.
One Lugnut even ran the stadium steps before the air was declared safe.
“Maybe everybody should wear gas masks tonight,” Brinn had cracked earlier. “Hey, if it can help us hit, let’s do it.”
A crowd of 8,614 saw the Dragons (18-22) get six hits. They open a five-game series with Bowling Green tonight.
