Frederick Keys

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Frederick Keys

League

Carolina League

Division

Northern Division

Year founded

1989

Major League affiliation

Baltimore Orioles

Home ballpark

Harry Grove Stadium

Previous home ballparks

McCurdy Field

City

Frederick, Maryland

Current uniform colors

black, orange

Previous uniform colors

Logo design

Division titles

League titles

1990, 2005

Manager

Tommy Thompson

Owner

Maryland Baseball Holding LLC

The Frederick Keys is the "High-A" class A baseball affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. The Keys play in the Carolina League and are based in Frederick, Maryland. The franchise is named for Star Spangled Banner poet Francis Scott Key, a native of Frederick County. The team mascot is a coyote known as Keyote. The team is currently owned by Maryland Baseball Holding LLC, after being purchased in 2006. Comcast-Spectacor one of the world's largest facility management companies and the principle owners of the Philadelphia 76ers, Philadelphia Flyers and Philadelphia Phantoms were the previous owners. Home games are played at Harry Grove Stadium.

1 History
2 Notable former Keys
3 References
4 External links

[edit] History

The team was founded in 1989 when the Baltimore Orioles decided to move their Class A affiliate from Hagerstown, Maryland. The city of Frederick convinced the owners of the then-Hagerstown Suns to move the team to Frederick and promised a 4,000-seat stadium to be built for the 1990 season. For the 1989 season, the Keys played at McCurdy Field, a Babe Ruth League stadium, while waiting for the construction of the new stadium to be completed.^[1] The Keys opened by losing both ends of a doubleheader (including a seven-inning perfect game by future major league all-star Steve Avery) against the Durham Bulls.^[2] Their first win came on April 11, 1989 with a 3-1 victory over the Kinston Indians in the Keys' first-ever home game.^[3]

Only two players in Keys history have been transferred directly from Frederick to the Baltimore Orioles (excluding rehab related transfers). On 3 September 1996, Eugene Kingsale's contract was purchased by Orioles. On 11 June 2005, Jeff Fiorentino's contract was purchased by the Orioles in order to replace the injured Luis Matos.

The Keys have played in the Carolina League Championship Series, the Mills Cup Series, three times, all against the Kinston Indians winning two Mills Cup championships. They won their first in 1990, and their last in the 2005 season, defeating Kinston both times. In 2005, they defeated Kinston three games to two at historic Grainger Stadium in the best of five series. They fell to the Indians in 2006 3 games to 1.

[edit] Notable former Keys

Several Keys alumni have gone on to play in the major leagues. In their inaugural season, the opening day roster featured several future major leaguers: David Segui, Francisco de la Rosa, Luis Mercedes, Jack Voigt, and Pete Rose, Jr.. ^[4]

Other Keys alumni include:

[edit] References

^ Duggan, Paul. "The Boys of Summers Past; Cherished Memories Resurface as Baseball Returns to Frederick" (PDF), The Washington Post, 1989-01-12. Retrieved on 2007-01-07.
^ "Perfect Game only Half of Keys' Troubles" (PDF), The Washington Post, 1989-04-10, pp. C7. Retrieved on 2007-01-08.
^ Eichelberger, Curtis. "Keys Find 1st Victory in Home Opener, 3-1" (PDF), The Washington Post, 1989-04-12, pp. D4. Retrieved on 2007-01-08.
^ Goff, Steve. "Keys, Cannons Ready to Play" (PDF), The Washington Post, 1989-04-07, pp. D7. Retrieved on 2007-01-07.

[edit] External links

Baltimore Orioles Franchise
AAA	AA	A	Rookie
Norfolk Tides	Bowie Baysox	Frederick Keys Delmarva Shorebirds Aberdeen IronBirds	Bluefield Orioles GCL Orioles VSL Orioles

Northern Division		Southern Division
Carolina League
Frederick Keys \| Lynchburg Hillcats \| Potomac Nationals \| Wilmington Blue Rocks		Kinston Indians \| Myrtle Beach Pelicans \| Salem Avalanche \| Winston-Salem Warthogs