Frederick Keys

BaseballOrioles: Named Mitch Bibb minor-league medical coordinator.Angels: Purschased the contracts of IF Larry Barnes and C Jason Dewey from Double-A Erie; OF Elpidio Guzman from Cedar Rapids of the Single-A Midwest League; P Matt Wise from Triple-A Edmonton; P Scot Shields from Lake Elsinore of the Single-A California League and P Elvin Nina from Double-A Midland. Sent P Mark Harriger to Edmonton.Devil Rays: Purchased the contracts of P Todd Belitz, P Cedrick Bowers, IF Jared Sandberg and OF Luke Wilcox from Triple-A Durham.

On a sweet spring night alive with baseball dreams, I'd rather see Myron Noodleman moonwalk across the field than Albert Belle swat a homer, any day. I'd rather stretch my legs across the seat in front at Prince George's Stadium than be shoehorned into a Camden Yards box seat. And I'd rather let my mind drift beyond the game than cheer at a digital billboard's command.You could say I'm minor league. A night at the Bowie Baysox, the Frederick Keys or the Delmarva Shorebirds appeals in a way that an expensive evening at the Yard does not. It probably has as much to do with cultural encoding as anything.

FREDERICK -- The luxury of having success throughout a club's farm system is that no team at any level gets shortchanged the next season.Take the Single-A Frederick Keys. Six prominent members of Delmarva's South Atlantic League champions -- Ryan Minor, Calvin Pickering and pitchers Ryan Kohlmeier, Scott Eibey, Gabe Molina and Maximo Heredia -- bypassed the Keys and jumped directly to Double-A Bowie this year.With those players, the Keys might have been a Carolina League powerhouse. Even without them, Frederick doesn't figure to do too badly.

They don't have the big names, but the Frederick Keys have the best record in the Orioles' farm system so far.Behind Chad Paronto's six scoreless innings, the Keys won for the fifth time in seven games last night, downing Salem, 6-0, before a record 7,484 fans for the home opener in Frederick.Paronto (2-0) has pitched 11 innings without allowing a run.He survived a shaky start when catcher Chip Alley threw out Juan Sosa, the Salem leadoff hitter, on a steal attempt. Paronto walked three in the inning.

FREDERICK -- Ryan Hendricks' pinch-hit grand slam in the seventh inning last night sparked the Frederick Keys to a 6-3 win over the Wilmington (Del.) Blue Rocks in a Single-A Carolina League game.Baysox 5, Thunder 4: Bowie scored four runs in the last two innings, capped by David Delucci's two-run homer in the top of the ninth, as the Baysox edged Trenton in a Double-A Eastern League game.Shorebirds 1, Sand Gnats 0: Brian Falkenborg struck out 11 as host Delmarva ended a six-game losing streak, defeating Savannah in the Single-A South Atlantic League.

FREDERICK -- With a roster depleted by promotions and injuries, the Frederick Keys have struggled in the second half of the Carolina League season. But last night the Northern Division's first-half champions warmed up for the playoffs with a 3-0 victory over Wilmington behind Chris Fussell.In his best outing of the season, Fussell (3-3) went the distance for the first time and allowed only five hits, all singles. It was the Keys' first complete-game shutout of the year.Wilmington (25-42 second half)

FREDERICK -- The Frederick Keys will not set a team record for consecutive losses.They were in danger of doing that last night, but grabbed the lead on Chip Lawrence's two-run, fifth-inning single and beat the Kinston Indians, 5-3, to end an eight-game skid at Grove Stadium.And they did it against the Single-A Carolina League's best team, a fellow division winner they may meet in the championship round of the playoffs."Everybody's relieved that we finally got a win," said Lawrence, playing second base since the promotion of David Lamb to the Double-A Bowie Baysox.

FREDERICK -- The Frederick Keys have scored five runs in their past four games, yet have won three of them.They had to scratch for offense again yesterday, but managed to salvage a doubleheader split when pinch hitter Rick Short knocked home the winning run in the seventh inning to beat the Salem Avalanche, 3-2, at Grove Stadium.Salem (3-7) rolled to an 8-0 victory in the opener before 2,819 wind-chilled fans.The second-game rally started when Carlos Akins singled against Sean Murphy and Lincoln Martin sacrificed for the second out.Frederick manager Dave Hilton sent up Short, and his Avalanche counterpart, Moose McGuire, brought Heath Bost into the game to relieve although he was not warming in the bullpen.

LYNCHBURG, Va. -- The Lynchburg Hillcats scored two runs in the eighth inning off reliever Radhames Dykhoff to defeat the Frederick Keys, 5-3, in a Single-A Carolina League game last night.The Keys fell to 17-31 in the second half despite two home runs from Jason LeCronier, who finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs.Pub Date: 8/10/97

FREDERICK -- The second-half troubles of the Frederick Keys continued last night at Grove Stadium.This time, they wasted one of their most effective pitching performances of the season and lost a 10-inning, 2-0 decision to the Prince William Cannons in a Carolina League game.Frederick starter Eric Estes allowed only one hit and one walk in his seven innings and pitched out of a bases-loaded, none-out jam in the sixth by striking out the side.But Estes left with nothing better than a scoreless tie because Yates Hall (1-6 with a 5.74 ERA entering the game)

1 Spoiling for a fight: The spoiler thing didn't go so well against the Rays, but now the Orioles head to Boston to give it another try. The first of three against the Red Sox is tonight (7 on MASN2). 2 Let's play two: They're not being paid, so it shouldn't matter that college football players are working on Labor Day. ESPN has a doubleheader starting at 4 p.m. - Fresno State at Rutgers and Tennessee at UCLA. 3 Movin' on up: If the White Sox's Jim Thome (left) hits a homer tonight against the Indians, it would be No. 537, breaking a tie with Mickey Mantle and taking sole possession of 14th place on the all-time home run list.

FREDERICK -- He towers over his peers but moves so fluidly that you hardly notice. His easy swing produces thunderous home runs to the opposite field. He maintains a relaxed grin as he signs autographs for lines of fans who probably couldn't name most of his teammates. The Orioles knew Matt Wieters was an advanced prospect when they drafted the catcher and signed him to a team-record $6 million bonus last summer. But the former Georgia Tech athlete has exceeded even their expectations in his professional debut, laying waste to the Single-A Carolina League as the No. 3 hitter for the Frederick Keys.

Andy MacPhail isn't promising any miraculous turnarounds in the Orioles' minor league system this season, but the president of baseball operations is guaranteeing that the team's future players "will get a lot of attention." MacPhail said: "I don't think there's anything more important to this franchise than to start to have a reliable supply of players come up through our system. We are going to do what we can to be as good at that as we can." MacPhail believes the Orioles are at a point where "it's more than just talking.

FREDERICK -- When the wind is right, the national anthem drifts from Harry Grove Stadium to a crypt in Mount Olivet Cemetery, where Francis Scott Key is buried. Key, who died in 1843, certainly never envisioned that his poem, "The Star-Spangled Banner," would be set to music and played at the beginning of baseball games everywhere. And he really wouldn't understand the song played in the third inning of every Frederick Keys game and accompanied by a percussion section of adults and kids jangling fistfuls of car and house keys: We're the Frederick Keys Come on out support your team Baseball is back in town You can hear the shaking sound Bring the family Dylan Johnson, just 5 years old and at his first Keys game, didn't have any keys to shake.

Only a few steps are taken through the main gate at Harry Grove Stadium when the first reminder greets its visitors. The standings from the Carolina League are posted on a concourse wall, in print large enough to be seen from the parking lot. To find the Frederick Keys in the first half, it was necessary to scan all the way to the bottom. Logic says this should be a depressing place for the Orioles' high Single-A affiliate to play its home games. If not for the cicadas earlier this summer, the sound of crickets chirping would have seemed a more appropriate soundtrack.

This week's question What's the best part of Ravens training camp? Autographs Getting close to the players It means the season is starting soon The food and attractions Watching practice Last week's question We asked which local baseball team's games you most enjoy attending, and IronBirds fans showed they like polls as much as they like baseball. 80.3 percent Aberdeen IronBirds (179 votes) 11.2 percent Baltimore Orioles (25 votes) 4 percent Bowie Baysox (9 votes) 4 percent Frederick Keys (9 votes)

Frederick Keys tickets offered at TownMall TownMall of Westminster is holding a Father's Day promotion with the Frederick Keys through June 15. Shoppers who present $50 in receipts from mall merchants will receive two free Frederick Keys minor-league baseball tickets at the customer service counter. Tickets are limited to one pair per family while supplies last. Children can visit the mall with their fathers from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday for a Father's Day event. Two Frederick Keys players and the team mascot Keyote will be on hand for autographs.

Keys' Opening Night There's nothing like Opening Day. It's that affirmation of spring, that anticipation and hope for a winning baseball season and those tempting smells of ballpark fare. It's a joyous day. Unless, of course, you don't have tickets. The Orioles, however, are not the only game in town. So while Opening Day is over, Opening Night for the Frederick Keys is tomorrow, and tickets are still available. The Single-A affiliate for the Orioles, the Keys are stationed at Harry Grove Stadium in Frederick.

The Comcast Network will televise 15 games of the three Orioles minor-league affiliates based in Maryland, beginning Saturday when the Salem Avalanche visits the Frederick Keys at 7 p.m. An arrangement with CN8 includes six Bowie Baysox games, including two on the road, five Keys games and four Delmarva Shorebirds contests. The three teams are owned by Comcast-Spectacor, which is affiliated with CN8. The schedule: May 12-Salem at Frederick, 7 p.m.; 13-Salem at Frederick, 1 p.m. June 23-Bowie at Reading, 7 p.m.; 24-Bowie at Reading, 7 p.m. July 7-New Britain at Bowie, 7 p.m.; 8-New Britain at Bowie, 1 p.m. August 20-Winston-Salem at Frederick.

Baseball Diamondbacks: Placed 1B Erubiel Durazo on the 15-day DL. Recalled 1B-OF Alex Cabrera from Triple-A Tucson. Padres: Promoted Brad Sloan to special assistant to the general manager. Frederick Keys (Double-A): Announced the extension of their player development contract with the Orioles through the 2002 season. Pro football Cardinals: Waived RB Keith Brown, CB Renard Cox, P Greg Debolt, DE Terrell Jurineack, QB Sean Keenan, FB Matt Keller, WR John Shoemaker, T Robert Skapura, and G David Walden.