Corpus Christi sports-talk show host Henry “Tiger” Hernandez picked up on it quite well during his appearance on tonight’s Beach Dawg broadcast with me.

“I see you’re on a crusade,” he said.

Dang right, I am.

The Corpus Christi Beach Dawgs deserve much better attention from the Corpus Christi sports media than they have received so far this season.

And, yes, I’m on a crusade to bring that about.

There is no excuse for the Corpus Christi Caller-Times to have completely neglected to tell its readers so far that Beach Dawg pitcher Rene Recio, a former local star for the State Champion Moody High School baseball team, has returned to his hometown to continue his pro career and is currently a perfect 3-0 in his first three Beach Dawg starts. Recio pitched an 8-inning, shut-out masterpiece against the McKinney Blue Thunder on Tuesday night and only about 250 people were in the stands to see it — because the newspaper, and the rest of the local media, has barely mentioned Recio to the masses.

That’s just one of the big Beach Dawg stories that our local media have not told our town. Here’s just a small sample of the others:

The Beach Dawgs are lead by legendary South Texas baseball coach Hector Salinas and his son Trey, both incredibly well known among local baseball fans. But I’ve not yet seen any quotation from either of them in our local media so far. I’m sure they have been mentioned a time or two in passing, but both of these guys have sufficient stature to warrant several front page feature stories by now.

Likewise, the Beach Dawgs have several standouts from the old Coastal Bend Aviators (who folded after last season). These guys all signed up immediately to return to play in the city when the new team was formed earlier this year. A good chunk of the entire Beach Dawg pitching staff falls into this category as a matter of fact, and that would make for very intriguing reading for most local sports fans.

And, anyone who works behind the scenes in Corpus Christi’s sports scene will tell you that, in this town especially, winning is everything. If a team is on a roll, it will usually draw solid crowds. If not, it won’t. So Corpus Christi sports fans should definitely be interested in the fact that the Beach Dawgs are in first place in the Continental Baseballl League and on a seven game win streak as I write this. (A huge number of local sports fans will be especially interested in knowing this in light of the current on-the-field problems of the other local baseball team, the Major League baseball affiliated Corpus Christi Hooks.)

And if even none of that were newsworthy about the Beach Dawgs, well, there’s the very intriguing and important story of the team forming on short notice and, basically, bailing the county-owned Fairgrounds Field out of a mess left when the Aviators closed shop. Even non-baseball fans should be interested in that one. But it’s not been thoroughly discussed in the local media. So I don’t think most county tax payers realize that even they have a vested interest in the Beach Dawgs drawing good crowds this season and being able to stay around for a few years.

Being a former sports reporter myself, I know what most local media guys will be tempted to say to my complaints: If the Beach Dawgs want better coverage, they need to do better PR.

Granted, the Beach Dawgs’ front office could do a better job of keeping the media abreast of important team developments such as upcoming starts by Recio and big games (and even personel changes) on the road.

But that’s beside the point.

I always learned in journalism school that the news shouldn’t have to come looking for the reporters. An important story is an important story. Fancy PR should never be required.

Public relations problems inherent with a new team and new league aside, there are plenty of solid reasons for the Corpus Christi Caller-Times and the other local media to have at least one reporter nosing around Fairground Field during homestands and hanging around for an entire game every now and then. But, so far, we’ve not seen that. (Granted, most of the TV stations have sent a camera to the stadium for an hour or so, and they mostly seem willing to announce Beach Dawg scores when someone from the team calls them in. That’s better than nothing, I suppose. But not a whole lot.)

So I AM on a crusade. I want the dang local media to do its dang job the way journalism professors are still teaching people to do it.

Thanks to Henry Hernandez for saying on tonight’s broadcast that he agrees with me on that. After hanging out at Fairgrounds Field for just one game, Henry said he will join my push. And, since Caller Times Sports Editor Matt Young is apparently a frequent guest on his show, my crusade might have a spark.

Let’s all send Henry a quick little thank you email for being the first significant local media guy to take serious notice of the newsworthiness of the Beach Dawgs. Maybe he can use those notes as ammunition to challenge Young on his paper’s neglect of the team. (But just understand that this will likely be a good natured challenge. I’ve never heard Henry to get overly confrontational. That’s why people like him.)

Once the newspaper’s wall comes down, the rest of the local media will usually follow.

Henry invited me to become a regular caller on his show, and I certainly intend to do that. If you’re a Beach Dawg fan, I hope you’ll do the same. He’s on weekday mornings from 6-9 a.m. on KSIX, 1230 AM. His on-air number is 361-882-KSIX. (Unfortunately, the show is not available on the Internet, but out-of-town Beach Dawg fans might want to call him anyway during the show. )

Please help me in my dang crusade.