“It’s about getting an opportunity,” DeShields said. “I’m going to be patient and wait my turn.”
DeShields indeed will return to manage the Dragons next season, the parent Cincinnati Reds confirmed Tuesday. Hitting coach Alex Pelaez also is coming back, but pitching coach Tony Fossas has been reassigned to the rookie-league affiliate in Billings, Mont., replaced after three seasons by Tom Browning, a Reds Hall of Fame member.
With DeShields calling the shots last season, Fossas handling the pitching and Pelaez bringing the hitters along, the Dragons won a franchise-best 83 games, set six other club records and made the Midwest League playoffs for the first time since 2008, losing in the first round to the Lansing Lugnuts.
It also was the season in which the Dragons set the North American professional sports record for consecutive home sellouts, a mark that stands at 844.
“Dayton isn’t the worst place in the world to be,” DeShields said from his Atlanta home, meaning that in the most complimentary sense. “I can think of a lot worse places to be if you’re going to be in the minor leagues.”
So, too, could Browning, who spent the past few years as an instructor at the lowest level of the Cincinnati system, first in Sarasota, Fla., then Goodyear, Ariz.
“I’m happy to be out of (Arizona),” said Browning, known as “Mr. Perfect” for the perfect game he pitched for the Reds against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sept. 16, 1988. “It’ll be a breath of fresh air. I’ve done extended spring (training) with Delino, and I really enjoy Alex.”
It’s something of a homecoming for Browning, who lives in northern Kentucky. Having fans in the stands will be a bonus.
“Last year,” Browning said, “I ran into Pete Rose and he asked me, ‘What kind of crowds do you get out there in Arizona, about 1,500 a game?’ I said, ‘How about 15? And that’s only if the grandparents and the girlfriends show up.’ ”
Browning, a left-hander who finished his career with 123 victories and won at least 14 games six times from 1985 to 1991, worked with most of last season’s Dragons pitchers, as well as many who could comprise next season’s staff, including 2011 first-round draft pick Robert Stevenson and third-rounder Tony Cingrani.
It will be difficult for Browning to squeeze more out of the pitching staff than Fossas did last season. The 2011 Dragons set a franchise record with a 3.39 earned-run average.
“I don’t know why the change was made, but I don’t think we’re taking a step back,” DeShields said. “They’re both quality dudes.”
DeShields, a star second baseman during a 13-year major-league career with five teams, clicked immediately with Dragons players, many of whom he had managed or instructed at Billings the previous two seasons, first as hitting coach, then manager. Players appreciated his laid-back style, but he also brought discipline, even benching third baseman David Vidal, the team’s top run producer, for a playoff game after he failed to hustle.
Dayton’s 48-32 second-half record was the best in the franchise’s 12-year history and the leading second-half mark among all minor league teams playing split-season formats. Lansing’s Mike Redmond was named MWL manager of the year, but the award easily could have gone to DeShields.
What can he do for an encore? He’ll get a chance to find out. “I enjoy what I do,” DeShields said. “I couldn’t see myself doing too much else different. It’s nice to go to a job that you actually enjoy.”
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