Editing Frederick Keys (section)

== History ==

=== Early professional baseball in Frederick ===
Frederick was one of the founding members of the [[Blue Ridge League]], which existed from 1915 to 1930.<ref>{{cite web|title=Blue Ridge League|url=http://www.blueridgeleague.org|publisher=Boys of the Blue Ridge, 2014|access-date=2014-09-06}}</ref> 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:
{{div col|colwidth=25em}}
* [[Clyde Barnhart]]: 1915, 1916, 1917
* [[Tom Connolly (third baseman)|Tom Connolly]]: 1915
* [[Bill Lamar]]: 1915
* [[Leo Meyer (baseball)|Leo Meyer]]: 1916
* [[Tom Crooke]]: 1917
* [[Clarence Blethen]]: 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923
* [[Ray Gardner (baseball)|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
{{div col end}}

=== Minor League Baseball (1989–2020) ===
The team was founded in 1989 when the Baltimore Orioles decided to move their [[Single-A|Class A]] [[Carolina League]] 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.<ref name="Boys of Summer">{{cite news |title=The Boys of Summers Past; Cherished Memories Resurface as Baseball Returns to Frederick |last=Duggan |first=Paul |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=1989-01-12 |id={{ProQuest|140085073}} }}</ref> The Keys opened by losing both ends of a [[Doubleheader (baseball)|doubleheader]] (including a seven-inning [[Perfect game (baseball)|perfect game]] by [[Dennis Burlingame]]) against the [[Durham Bulls]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Perfect Game only Half of Keys' Troubles |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |pages=C7 |date=1989-04-10 |id={{ProQuest|140018712}} }}</ref> Their first win came on April 11, 1989, with a 3–1 victory over the [[Kinston Indians]] in the Keys' first-ever home game.<ref>{{cite news |title=Keys Find 1st Victory in Home Opener, 3–1 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |last=Eichelberger |first=Curtis |date=1989-04-12 |pages=D4 |id={{ProQuest|140024139}} }}</ref>

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 (baseball, born 1978)|Luis Matos]].

The 2020 Minor League Baseball season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Keys did not receive an invitation to remain in affiliated baseball as part of the [[Minor League Baseball#Reorganization of 2021|2021 reorganization of Minor League Baseball]], and instead joined the newly-formed [[MLB Draft League]].