They will never forget the franchise-record 15 straight wins and 18 wins in their final 19 games. That streak enabled them to finish the second half 31-32 and in fourth place in the Midwest League’s six-team East Division.
“The finish changes everything,” Harrison Jr. said. “Our record isn’t reflective of who we could be. From a professional side, from the development side, to see the guys figure out that and finishing stronger than you started, is a deal. Being a pro and showing up every day, that’s a thing.”
The players, just as last year’s playoff team did, often talked about how close the team was, how they wouldn’t give up no matter the adversity of multiple long losing streaks, low batting averages and high ERAs. Harrison Jr. encouraged them to make memories, nonetheless, and spend time together away from work. And they did from hanging out to playing golf.
“The glue of the clubhouse being together was there all year,” Harrison Jr. said.
Togetherness was necessary. A lot of hitters struggled to find the results they wanted for much of the season. They had to pick each other up mentally, emotionally and on the field. Many of them were failing at a much higher rate than ever before as amateurs.
“At this level for first- and second-year guys, failure happens way more than you expect, way more than you could ever imagine as a player,” Harrison Jr. said. “There’s a lot of shell shock.”
Early in the second half of the season the Dragons lost five straight. A week later they began an eight-game losing streak. They lost six straight games before the 15-game winning streak began with a Sunday win in Lansing to avoid being swept.
“I look at that second half and what I see is a group of guys that didn’t let that beginning of the season affect them,” outfielder Anthony Stephan said. “We came out every day and worked like we were 80 and 30. I don’t know how many other teams in the league are doing that. I’m looking at this as a success because it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.”
Harrison Jr. and his staff took seriously their responsibility to hold the team together and coach them hard no matter the won-loss record. This was Harrison Jr.’s second year managing the Dragons. Several players were on the team last year and knew what to expect. Stephan, however, played his first season of pro ball this summer and learned a lot from his manager.
“He’s a great manager, he brings everyone together, he keeps it loose, he keeps it fun, and that’s what we preached all year,” Stephan said. “It doesn’t matter what our record is, we’re just going to come out and have fun with the guys every day. Everyone saw that the last three weeks. Don’t underestimate the power of chemistry. That goes a long way in this sport.”
The Dragons finished eighth in the 12-team league in batting average at .225 and scored fewer runs than all but two teams. But in the second half they had a plus-4 run differential and were fourth in the league in batting average at .243 compared to .208 in the first half. Players like Carter Graham, Carlos Jorge, Peyton Stovall, Carlos Sanchez, Jack Moss and Diego Omana had hot stretches during the winning streak.
“Troy Gingrich is probably, if not the best, one of the best hitting coaches I’ve ever been around,” Harrison Jr. said. “He’s got a very unique way to connect with all these guys.”
The pitching staff also turned a corner in the season’s second half with a 4.42 ERA compared to 5.11 in the first half. During the winning streak the ERA was 2.27.
“In all honesty, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that for that long of a period of time, as far as the win streak,” pitching coach Willie Blair said. “We were just very consistent the last three and a half weeks, four weeks. So what can I say? A lot of credit to them. A lot of times early in the year we got punched in the mouth, and they never stopped.”
Reliever Joe Menefee, who got to pitch the final two innings in Sunday’s finale, credited Blair with teaching them to stick to the process and not panic,
“I told him every day, ‘It starts with you Willie,’” Menefee said. “He was our pace car and pushed us to be the best version of ourselves that we can be. Just his ability to know that we’re all unique and finding ways to connect with each individual versus a broad spectrum of it.”
Harrison Jr. said it’s good for the players to endure adversity in the minors. Because development is the primary goal, there is more leeway on won-loss record, though none of the players tolerated losing the way they did for most of the season.
For those who reach the big leagues, production will become the measuring stick over development.
“Having the experience prepares them better for tougher times,” Harrison Jr. said. “The worst thing you can do is have everything go great, then get to the big leagues, and now you’re struggling against the best people, and you’ve never struggled, and you got nothing to reflect on. These guys will have something in their rear view mirror that they can look back on and remember a time when it was hard, when everything wasn’t good, and it seems like nothing’s going right, and realize there’s something better on the other side sometimes.”
Harrison Jr. and his coaches will watch how this year’s players progress at the higher levels. Some will return and work toward the next promotion. No one knows yet where they will be on opening day in 2026. Time is short as a group in the minors. That’s why the final handshake line Sunday was longer than usual and hugs were longer than usual.
They were thanking each other and expressing love for being pushed to be better players and better professionals. Smiles were big and some eyes were damp. Players told their manager they loved playing for him.
Then, as has been their custom this season, they gathered in the clubhouse and talked about the best performances of the game. Surely, on the season’s final night, more thank yous and proud of yous were shared. And Harrison Jr. was moved by all of it.
“The winning streak is cool, but the things that came along with it from the unity ... we had all these hugs on the field, and then I come in the clubhouse and they’re waiting?” he said. “Because this is what we do when we win.”
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