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By Marc Katz, Staff Writer Updated 3:28 AM Friday, October 21, 2011

It’s World Series time again, and yes, you have seen many of these Cardinals and Rangers before, right here at Fifth Third Field.

With apologies to Heater and Gem and all the other mascots the Class A Dayton Dragons use to entertain the fans, the Dragons’ winning ways and speculation on which players will make the majors is part of the fun at any game.

In low Class A ball, it’s sometimes tough to tell, but St. Louis and Texas each have 10 players on their rosters who came through the Midwest League since 2000, when the Dragons were born.

The Cardinals still have a team in the league in Quad Cities, and the Rangers had a previous long affiliation. Each team also has acquired a gaggle of players by trade, so David Freese, who was with Fort Wayne in 2006, was a Padre at the time, not a Cardinal as he is now.

The point is, you saw these guys at the start of their careers, before they became big names such as St. Louis first baseman Albert Pujols, who wore out the Dragons while playing for at Peoria in 2000, his only minor league season. St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina also is a Midwest League alum (Peoria, 2002).

Derek Holland, the winningest pitcher on the Texas roster, played in Clinton in 2008 and second baseman Ian Kinsler was with Clinton in 2004.

Wonder if any of them remember their bus rides to and from Dayton?

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2157 or mkatz@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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