Frederick Keys

The Frederick Keys are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. The Keys are based in Frederick, Maryland. The franchise is named for "Star-Spangled Banner" writer Francis Scott Key, a native of Frederick County. A new team mascot "Frank Key", short for Francis Scott Key, joined the current mascot, a coyote named ''Keyote'', at the beginning of the 2011 baseball season. The Keys were purchased from Maryland Baseball Holding, LLC by Attain Sports and Entertainment in January 2022. Home games are played at Harry Grove Stadium.

Prior to Major League Baseball's reorganization of the minor leagues following the 2020 season, the Keys were a Minor League Baseball team that served as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles from 1989 to 2020.

Early professional baseball in Frederick

Frederick was one of the founding members of the Blue Ridge League, which existed from 1915 to 1930. The team, which went by the names of Hustlers, Champs and Warriors, won league championships in 1915 and 1921. Games were played at the Frederick Fairgrounds until 1924 when McCurdy Field was built. With the collapse of the Blue Ridge League in 1931, it would be several decades before professional baseball returned to Frederick.

Frederick players from this era who were major leaguers:

* Clyde Barnhart: 1915, 1916, 1917
* Tom Connolly: 1915
* Bill Lamar: 1915
* Leo Meyer: 1916
* Tom Crooke: 1917
* Clarence Blethen: 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923
* Ray Gardner: 1920, 1922, 1923, 1925
* Ray Hartranft: 1920
* Duke Sedgwick: 1922
* Jim Keesey: 1923
* Norm McNeil: 1923
* Bobby Schang: 1923
* Chick Fullis: 1924, 1925, 1926
* Karl Kolseth: 1924
* Bill Hohman: 1924
* Rollie Hemsley: 1925, 1926, 1927
* Larry Boerner:1926
* Jimmie DeShong:1928
* Joe Vosmik: 1929
* Milt Galatzer: 1930
* Bill Perrin: 1930

Debut

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. The Keys opened by losing both ends of a doubleheader (including a seven-inning perfect game by Dennis Burlingame) against the Durham Bulls. Their first win came on April 11, 1989, with a 3–1 victory over the Kinston Indians in the Keys' first-ever home game.

Only two players in Keys history have been transferred directly from Frederick to the Baltimore Orioles (excluding rehab related transfers). On September 3, 1996, Eugene Kingsale's contract was purchased by the Orioles. On June 11, 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, five times. Four series were against the Kinston Indians, while the series in 2007 was against the Salem Avalanche. They won their first series in 1990, defeating the Indians three games to two. They won their second cup in the 2005 season, defeating Kinston three games to two at historic Grainger Stadium in the best of five series. They were swept by the Indians in 2006, 3 games to 0. They won the 2007 series against the Salem Avalanche three games to one. They defeated Kinston in the 2011 series three games to one.

Playoff history

*1990: Defeated Kinston 3–2 to win championship.
*1993: Lost to Wilmington 2–0 in semifinals.
*1997: Lost to Lynchburg 2–0 in semifinals.
*2000: Lost to Lynchburg 2–0 in semifinals.
*2001: Lost to Wilmington 2–0 in semifinals.
*2005: Defeated Lynchburg 2–0 in semifinals; defeated Kinston 3–2 to win championship.
*2006: Defeated Wilmington 2–1 in semifinals; lost to Kinston 3–0 in finals.
*2007: Defeated Wilmington 2–0 in semifinals; defeated Salem 3–1 to win championship.
*2010: Lost to Potomac 3–1 in semifinals.
*2011: Defeated Potomac 3–2 in semifinals; defeated Kinston 3–1 to win championship.
*2017: Lost to Lynchburg 2–1 in semifinals.

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.

Other Keys alumni include:

* Andy Van Slyke: 1995
* Arthur Rhodes: 1989, 1990
* Joe Borowski: 1989, 1990
* Sidney Ponson: 1996
* Brian Roberts: 2000
* Larry Bigbie: 2000
* Tim Raines Jr.: 2000
* Eli Whiteside: 2002
* Nick Markakis: 2005
* Adam Loewen: 2005
* Nolan Reimold: 2006
* Matt Wieters: 2008
* Brad Bergesen: 2009
* Manny Machado: 2011
* Dylan Bundy: 2012
* Nicky Delmonico: 2012
* Ty Kelly: 2012
* Jason Hammel: 2012
* Kevin Gausman: 2012
* Steve Pearce: 2013
* Josh Stinson: 2013
* Ashur Tolliver: 2013
* Wilson Betemit: 2013
* Ryan Flaherty: 2013
* Zach Davies: 2013
* Mike Yastrzemski: 2014
* Jimmy Yacabonis: 2014
* Austin Wynns: 2014
* Trey Mancini: 2014
* Parker Bridwell: 2014
* Steven Brault: 2014
* Mychal Givens: 2014
* Chance Sisco: 2015
* Jonathan Schoop: 2015
* John Means: 2015
* Stefan Crichton: 2015
* Wei-Yin Chen: 2015
* David Lough: 2015
* David Hess: 2015

Roster

References

External links

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Statistics from Baseball-Reference

{{Maryland Sports

Carolina League teams
Baseball teams established in 1989
1989 establishments in Maryland
Sports in Frederick, Maryland
MLB Draft League teams