Frederick Flashback: The Presidential Visits
President George H.W. Bush dons a Keys hat while at Harry Grove Stadium on August 14, 1992.
On June 8, 1991, the Frederick Keys played the Durham Bulls in front of a crowd of 7,912.
Among those in the stands at Harry Grove Stadium — and the reason they were so packed that day — was serving U.S. President George H. W. Bush.
On the 22nd Presidents Day since the 41st President’s inaugural visit to the ballpark in Frederick, let’s look back at his two trips to the Grove.
It’s no secret that the Bush family are avid baseball fans. Bush’s son and former President George W. used to own the Rangers. George H.W., an Astros fan, has been spotted at major league games in recent years. Back in 1947, he played in the first College World Series as a first baseman at Yale. Though the Bulldogs would fall in the best-of-three series to California, he fondly recounted playing in the championship in this 2007 Sports Illustrated article.
George H.W. Bush in his Yale baseball uniform.
President Bush trekked from Camp David, the presidential retreat located in northern Frederick County, to the Grove twice during his presidency — for the Durham game in ’91 and again on August 8, 1992. (Camp David’s only about a 26-mile drive from the Keys’ stadium.) For his second Keys outing, Bush brought along the First Lady and several of his grandchildren.
President Bush watches the Keys take on Durham on June 8, 1991 at Harry Grove Stadium with M.J. Grove, son of the stadium’s namesake.
Bush sat in the suite level at Harry Grove Stadium for both games. Obviously, security at the ballpark increased during his visits, with Secret Service agents manning doors and scattered elsewhere throughout the stadium.
The President’s security detail was particularly cautious with one Orioles Scout who came to the park with his radar gun in 1991. Jim Gilbert’s story, as told by The Baltimore Sun’s Pat O’Malley, is here. An excerpt from O’Malley’s July 28, 1991 column:
Gilbert, who resides in Hagerstown, was scheduled to work in Frederick that night and rate a pitcher. He shows up at a backdoor to the clubhouse only to be met by some huge, hulking guy who wanted to know what he wanted.
The guy happened to be a Secret Service agent, but Gil, unaware of the president’s visit, had no idea why he was guarding the door.
An argument ensued, and when the Secret Service man wanted to look in Gil’s black bag, all hell broke loose.
Gilbert told the guy that he had a radar gun (to clock the velocity on a pitcher’s fastball). With that, the agent shouted out, “A radar gun? What kind of gun did you say, a radar gun?”
Within seconds, Gilbert was surrounded by about 10 agents who wanted to see his radar gun. According to Gil, the agents didn’t have a clue what it was for.
As they started tugging at his bag, Gil grabbed the radar gun and ran across the room shouting “Wherever the gun goes, I go!”
Despite the Keys’ close proximity to Camp David, President Bush remains the only Commander-in-Chief to stop by the Grove for a ballgame.
Regarding non-presidential matters:
*Baltimore’s spring training minor league mini-camp opened today with 29 farmhands slated to participate. That list includes several former Keys and several more who will likely don Frederick orange and black this season.
*The Keys Job Fair will be held next Tuesday and Wednesday (Feb. 26-27) from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. each night in the Mattress Warehouse Club at Harry Grove Stadium. More info about the job fair is here.
*2012 Key Kevin Gausman found a high-calorie surprise in his locker at O’s spring training this weekend. Baltimore’s pitching prospect had a well-publicized habit of eating powdered mini-donuts before taking the mound in college, which Orioles center fielder Adam Jones parlayed into this clubhouse prank.
*46 days until opening night at the Grove.
Shake your Keys.
Five for Friday: Potential Keys, reading for the weekend and other stuff
Buried beneath yesterday’s bosom-filled blog broadcast was a link to the second installment of The Frederick 40 Countdown, a series that takes look at 40 prospects who have the potential to wear a Keys uniform this season.
If you missed it, I understand, given the distracting photo directly above it.
The good news is part two of our countdown is the first of this week’s Five for Friday, a quintuplet of Keys-related information to carry you through the weekend.
1. Frederick 40 Countdown: Part II – Nowak back for more hacks in 2013?
Among this week’s five potential Keys is Frederick’s 2012 leader in batting average and doubles, Jeremy Nowak (pictured above). Among the highlights of Nowak’s baseball career is his one season at Mount Olive College in North Carolina. Nowak was a one-year D-II monster, hitting .446, racking up 99 hits — including 17 homers — and driving in 81 runs for the Trojans. He started the season with a 35-game hitting streak and left his mark on the Mount Olive record book.
As for the rest of the bunch in part two:
Matt Bywater – A lefty who led the NCAA in complete games in 2010. Also had a strong mustache on picture day last season.
Parker Bridwell - Starred at a high school in Texas with teams nicknamed the Whitefaces. Don’t get offended, a whiteface is another name for the Hereford breed of cattle.
Devin Jones - One of two Mississippi State athletes with his name during his time in Starkville. The potential 2013 Key played baseball, the other football. The baseball Jones was probably the better Bulldog as far as on-field performance goes.
Joe Oliveira – Named to the Johnny Bench Award Watch list three years while at the University of the Pacific.
By the way, part one of the countdown is here.
2. Some Keys-related reading
*MASN’s Steve Melewski has been all over the former-Keys beat in the last week. Three links to his stories are below, two on Kevin Gausman — O’s first-round pick last year and major pitching prospect — and one on Bobby Bundy — also a pitcher. Gausman had a brief stint with the Keys late in the season. He also came to the O’s Caravan event in Frederick in January. Here are the two Melewski stories on Gausman:
- Searching for a third plus pitch, Kevin Gausman just may have found one
- Kevin Gausman on his innings limit, high expectations and powdered donuts
Bundy, the brother of top-pitching prospect and 2012 Key Dylan Bundy, spent a large chunk of 2011 dominating hitters with the Keys. He’s coming off elbow surgery after a disappointing 2012. Here’s Melewski’s story:
- After surgery, Bobby Bundy looks to recapture the form he showed with Frederick
3. Meet Frank Key all over again
We just added a Frederick Keys video relic to the website. It’s called “Frederick Meets Frank Key” (YouTube link) and it’s worth watching. The comments about Frank Key’s knickers make the video.
4. Newsletter time
The newest Keys newsletter has been published. It is here.
5. Former Frederick Friday Contest
Head over to the Keys Facebook page this afternoon for another edition of our weekly Former Frederick Friday Contest. We post the picture, you guess who it is, if you’re the first to name that Key, your name will be entered into a drawing to win skybox tickets at Harry Grove Stadium this season. We’ll post a brief feature on the this week’s former Key on the blog on Monday.
As always, shake your Keys.
Frederick Flashback: The Kissing Bandit
In the name of St. Valentine, let’s go back to Harry Grove Stadium in 1991.
Pictured above is former Key Randy Berlin, about to receive a wet one from Morganna the Kissing Bandit.
Morganna Roberts, described in a 2003 Sports Illustrated article as a woman with “measurements like a first-place hockey record, 60-24-39,” is from Louisville, Ky., and by all accounts now — or lackthereof — lives a normal life. But for three decades, the busty Kentuckian became famous for running onto fields, courts and rinks to smooch lucky athletes.
Her first on-field caper came in 1971 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, when she went for a jaunt across the infield to plant a kiss on all-time hits leader Pete Rose. She became a traveling sideshow at major league parks across the country, soon expanding her repertoire to include NBA and NHL arenas and minor league venues. In doing so, she compiled an impressive list of smooch-ees that includes George Brett (1979 All-Star game at the Kingdome in Seattle) Cal Ripken, Jr. (1988 at Camden Yards) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1989 before a Lakers-Rockets game).
So, 20 years after Morganna made her debut with Pete Rose, Sr., she came to Frederick to add Pete Rose, Jr. to her list. She got him, and Berlin’s kiss was just a bonus cherry on top of that romantic evening at the Grove.
The Kissing Bandit, who worked as an exotic dancer when she wasn’t storming fields and rushing athletes lips-first, hung up her kissing lipstick in 2000, according to this Seattle Post-Intelligencer article.
Here’s a Morganna highlight video, which opens with her Baltimore encounter with The Iron Man. A signed Morganna photo dug out of the Keys archives is below. Happy Valentines Day.
In non-kissing news:
*Part two of our Frederick 40 Countdown is up on FrederickKeys.com. This week’s five include the 2012 Keys’ leader in batting average and doubles and two highly-touted pitching prospects. Check it out by clicking here or on the link above.
*We’re going to start counting down the top 10 promotions of the upcoming season shortly. Stay tuned for that. What would you like to see at the Grove?
*50 days until opening night in Frederick.
Shake your Keys.
Hot Keys Down Under
While big-league spring training is just getting under away and minor-league camp is right around the corner, three Orioles prospects just finished a championship-series run on the other side of the world.
Former Keys Allan de San Miguel and Brenden Webb and 2012 Delmarva Shorebird Michael Ohlman played in last weekend’s Australian Baseball League Championship Series as members of the Perth Heat. The Heat lost in the ABL’s world series two games to none, falling to the Canberra Calvary 6-4 on Friday and 7-6 on Saturday.
Ohlman, who will likely don a Keys uniform this season, had the best campaign down under of the three Baltimore farmhands who had hoped to lead Perth to its third-straight ABLCS crown. In 43 regular season games, Ohlman, 22, hit .317 with six home runs and 27 RBI. In the postseason, he hit .467.
Ohlman’s name was in the news for all the wrong reasons just under a year ago. He injured his shoulder in a car accident during spring training and soon after received a 50-game suspension for violating the minor league drug policy. But Ohlman rebounded nicely after those setbacks, hitting .304 in 51 games with Delmarva, doubling 16 times, homering twice and driving in 28 runs while serving as the Shorebirds catcher. He and San Miguel split time at first base and behind the plate with Perth.
Webb, A 6-3, left-handed outfielder with good speed, played in Frederick at the end of 2012. He hit .270 in 23 games with the Keys after hitting .251 in Delmarva before being called up. Webb also stole a career-high 19 bases in 2012 and had a personal-best on-base percentage over .400 despite striking out 138 times in 124 games.
Webb joined Perth in early January and hit .190 with five home runs in 18 games during the regular season. He struggled in the playoffs as well, hitting just .091. The 27th-best prospect in the Orioles’ system according to Baseball America, Webb will likely start 2013 with the Keys.
San Miguel, a native of Bentley, Australia, has played for the Heat in the last three ABL seasons and played 30 games for Frederick in 2012. The right-handed Aussie hit .294 during the ABL regular season, slugging five homers and driving in 30 runs, and hit .286 in the playoffs. Barring a setback, odds are San Miguel has already played his final game as a Key.
Steve Bumbry, a Key in ’11 and ’12, started the ABL season with Perth but left the team in early December.
In other news:
*Webb and Ohlman will report early to spring training for a minor league mini-camp on Monday (Feb. 18). Minor league pitchers and catchers don’t report until March 2 and position players don’t report until March 7. A full list of the 29 O’s farmhands heading to Sarasota for the mini-camp can be found here on Orioles beat writer Britt Ghiroli’s blog.
*The Keys annual job fair will be held Feb. 26-27 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The team will be interviewing for its gameday positions at the event, which will be held in the Mattress Warehouse Club on the suite level in Harry Grove Stadium. The full release on the job fair is here on the Keys’ website.
*We’re 51 days away from opening night at the Grove. Single-game tickets will go on sale March 30 at KeysFest (click to see release). Ticket plans, however, are on sale right now. All the info regarding Keys ticket plans, which range from a 10-ticket flex-pack that can be used when and however the buyer chooses to a full-season package, is at this link on FrederickKeys.com.
Shake your Keys.
Former Frederick Friday Feature – Dalton Maine
Welcome to the Keys 2nd annual Former Frederick Friday contest. Throughout the offseason on specific Friday’s, a picture of a former Key is posted. The first person to guess it right will get their name in the running for a Keys Luxury Suite during a game in 2013. We are currently in our 13th week of the contest. The latest former key to be selected was right handed pitcher, Dalton Maine.
It took a while on Facebook for Maine to be guessed, which isn’t surprising, considering this bushy-browed right hander only saw time in Frederick for 19 games out of his total 93 in his minor league career. His baseball career began in the independent league, with the Mason City Bats in 1994. His 1-6 record and 4.93 ERA wasn’t anything superior, but none the less, the Orioles picked him up as an undrafted free agent in ’95 and he didn’t disappoint in his first season in the system.
After a one game stint with this Bluefield O’s, the University of Richmond alumni found himself with the GCL Orioles. In 18 games, he showed that he may have been worth the pickup after all. In 18 games, he was 1-0 with a 2.08 ERA. That was enough for him to skip low ‘A’ and head to Frederick to finish out his 1995 season. He didn’t do too badly with the Keys either, pitching 22 innings, compiling a 3.68 ERA and 1-1 record.
In 1996, he found himself in the California League with the Orioles minor league team at the time, the High Desert Mavericks. After posting a 1.50 ERA over 12 innings, he was moved to the Bakersfield Blaze, a Co-Op team at the time. He pitched 47.1 innings with Bakersfield before being moved to Bowie, where he posted a 5.06 ERA in 21+ innings to finish off the ’96 campaign.
His minor league career ended after just 11 games in ’97 between the GCL Orioles and the Baysox.
Former Frederick Friday Feature – Allen Plaster
Welcome to the Keys 2nd annual Former Frederick Friday contest. Throughout the offseason on specific Friday’s, a picture of a former Key is posted. The first person to guess it right will get their name in the running for a Keys Luxury Suite during a game in 2013. We are currently in our sixth week of the contest. The latest former key to be selected was right handed Pitcher Allen Plaster.
Allen was born on August 13, 1970 in Kernersville, North Carolina. Plaster attended the University of North Carolina- Charlotte until he was drafted in the 20th round by the Orioles in the 1991 draft. He started his career within the Orioles farm system with Bluefield where he pitched in 10 games and accrued a 2.44 ERA. He was then promoted to Frederick where he appeared in only 4 games and had a 11.0 ERA. Allen spent all of 1992 with the Frederick Keys and had a much better pitching performance. He ended the year with a 2.87 ERA in 150.1 innings pitched and a 9-12 win – loss record.
After a solid year in Frederick, Plaster spent 1993 and 1994 in Modesto, California. 1994 seemed to be Allen’s best performing year. He was able to obtain a 1.93 ERA in 51.1 innings pitched. Ultimately, Plaster ended his career after the 1996 season in Double A with the Bowie Baysox where he had a less than stellar year.
His career numbers as a member of the minor league system for seven seasons was a 24-22 record with a 3.39 ERA in 151 games and 428.0 innings pitched.
Make sure to “Like” Us on Facebook to have your chance at the next Former Frederick Friday, which will take place on December 21st!
Former Frederick Friday Players
November 2nd: Ron Kitchen
November 9th: Scott Conner
November 16th: Mark Gibbs
November 30th: Chris Lemp
December 7th: Feliciano Mercedes
December 14th: Allen Plaster
Former Frederick Friday Feature – Feliciano Mercedes
Welcome to the Keys 2nd annual Former Frederick Friday contest. Throughout the offseason on specific Friday’s, a picture of a former Key is posted. The first person to guess it right will get their name in the running for a Keys Luxury Suite during a game in 2013. The fifth week into the contest wasn’t too much of a stumper, as it took just two guesses on Facebook for someone to get the right guy. Infielder Feliciano Mercedes, who also pitched in his MiLB career, was the former Key selected from archives last week, so let’s find out some more about him…
Born in the Dominican Republic in 1973, Mercedes, 39, was signed in 1991 as an undrafted free agent by the Orioles. The switch-hitting infielder began his pro career with the Gulf Coast League Orioles, where he managed an average of just .227 om 185 at-bats. In ’92, he spent time with the Bluefield Orioles (Rookie League), where he hit much better at .272 and stole 14 bases while seeing time at shortstop and third base. After 43 games with Bluefield, Feliciano saw himself finishing the season with the Class ’A’ Kane County Cougars. In the remaining 53 games of 1992, he hit .241 with 10 RBI.
Although his numbers to that point were nothing to brag about, Mercedes spent all of 1993 within the friendly confines of Harry Grove Stadium. As a member of the Keys, he primarily played shortstop. Over 123 games, he hit 17 doubles, stole 17 bases, knocked in 35 runs and hit .227. He found himself starting the ’94 season back with the GCL Orioles, where he hit .300 through three games before returning to Frederick for 43 games. He hit just .237 and knocked in 19 runs in his second stint with the Keys.
1995 marked the final year of Mercedes’ career in baseball. He spent time with the Advanced ‘A’ High Desert Mavericks to begin the year before getting promoted to Bowie. He hit just .150 in Double-A. His career numbers as a member of the O’s minor league system for five seasons was .232 average, 111 RBI, .312 OBP, .299 SLG. Mercedes was speedy, as he swiped 63 bases throughout those five seasons.
Make sure to “Like” Us on Facebook to have your chance at the next Former Frederick Friday, which will take place on December 7th!
Former Frederick Friday Players
November 2nd: Ron Kitchen
November 9th: Scott Conner
November 16th: Mark Gibbs
November 30th: Chris Lemp
December 7th: Feliciano Mercedes
Former Frederick Friday Feature – Chris Lemp
Welcome to the Keys 2nd annual Former Frederick Friday contest. Throughout the offseason on specific Friday’s, a picture of a former Key is posted. The first person to guess it right will get their name in the running for a Keys Luxury Suite during a game in 2013. The fourth week into the contest wasn’t too much of a stumper, as it took just one guess on Facebook for someone to get the right guy. Pitcher Chris Lemp was the former Key selected from archives last week, so let’s find out some more about him…
Selected in the 9th round of the 1991 draft by the O’s, Lemp was taken out of Sacramento City College. Currently 41 years old, Lemp saw time during three seasons as a Key. After going 2-4 in his first two season in the Orioles system between Bluefield and Kane County, Chris started the ’93 season as a Key and would stay there for that season and the next. In ’93, he posted a 4-1 record but his ERA was nothing too impressive at 3.56. 1994 showed improvement in that area, as Lemp lowered his line to 2.71 over 52 games. Chris tallied 21 saves for the Keys in 1994, eight in ’93 and 19 in 1995 before getting promoted to Bowie in the later part of ’95. Lemp is the Keys all-time leader in saves with 48. The next player closest to that is Francisco Hernandez with 38 from 1995-98.
Double-A didn’t go too well for Lemp during the 18 games he appeared in during the end of the 1995 season. He was 2-4 with a 5.40 ERA and four saves. He did see limited time in Triple-A Rochester, where he posted an 11.25 ERA over three games. Lemp split time between the Independent League Goldeyes in Winnipeg and Double-A Bowie in ’96, but his ERA was above four with both squads.
Make sure to “Like” Us on Facebook to have your chance at the next Former Frederick Friday, which will take place on December 7th!
Former Frederick Friday Players
November 2nd: Ron Kitchen
November 9th: Scott Conner
November 16th: Mark Gibbs
November 30th: Chris Lemp
Former Frederick Friday Feature – Mark Gibbs
Welcome to the Keys 2nd annual Former Frederick Friday contest. Throughout the offseason on specific Friday’s, a picture of a former Key is posted. The first person to guess it right will get their name in the running for a Keys Luxury Suite during a game in 2013. The third week into the contest was a tough-y, as shown by the 18 guesses it took Facebook for someone to get the right guy. That is not including two clues either! Mark Gibbs was the lucky guy selected from the Keys photo archives last week, so let’s find out some more about this Keys infielder!
Named as one of the Top 100 high school players after a great career at St. Johns College High School, Gibbs was signed by the Orioles after being the starting short stop for four years at George Mason University. In his time at Mason, Gibbs finished in the top ten in many categories, including hits and games played.
Mark made his organizational debut with the GCL Orioles in 2000, where he played both second base and shortstop. His average was nothing to brag about at .259. That was enough to earn him a trip to Frederick to begin the 2001 season. He played only 42 games in a Keys uniform and hit just .207. None the less, he found himself in Bowie after his time with the Keys, where he hit .228 through 32 games. He saw time at the hot corner with the Baysox as well.
Gibbs began 2002 with the Shorebirds in Low ‘A’ before seeing some time with the Baysox again in Double ‘A’. His stats were not too impressive, hitting .180 in Delmarva and .167 in Bowie. That was his final year in professional baseball.
Currently, Mark Gibbs works at his high school alma mater, St. Johns College HS as the head baseball coach. Although he didn’t get higher than Double ‘A’ in the O’s organization, he endured plenty of success in high school and college baseball and is now giving his knowledge to the players he coaches.
Make sure to “Like” Us on Facebook to have your chance at the next Former Frederick Friday, which will take place on November 30th! Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving, Keys fans!
Former Frederick Friday Players
November 2nd: Ron Kitchen
November 9th: Scott Conner
November 16th: Mark Gibbs
Former Frederick Friday Feature – Scott Conner
Welcome to the Keys 2nd annual Former Frederick Friday contest. Throughout the offseason on specific Friday’s, a picture of a former Key is posted. The first person to guess it right will get their name in the running for a Keys Luxury Suite during a game in 2013. The second week was another hard one, even though it only took 10 guesses on Facebook for someone to get the right guy. Scott Conner was the mystery man this week, let’s find out some more about this Keys pitcher.
This right-hander, drafted in the 34th round of the 1991 draft by the O’s out of New Mexico Junior College, spent 10 seasons in between the minors and independents. Currently 40 years old, Conner spent his first two season with the Gulf Coast League Orioles, where he went a combined 5-9 with a 3.34 ERAin 24 games (18 starts). After spending all of 1993 with the Orioles Low ‘A’ Albany Polecats, Conner made his Keys debut in 1994. Frederick utilized Conner as a reliever, where he appeared in 53 games, posting a 2-1 record and a solid 3.56 ERA. During his time with the Keys in ’94, Conner also recorded eight saves.
His performance in Frederick was good enough to warrant a promotion to Double-A in 1995, where he spent his whole season with the Baysox. He pitched in 41 games and went 5-1 but held an ERA of 4.17, which wasn’t too great. He spent time with both Frederick and Bowie in 1996, his final season in affiliated baseball.
Conner was injured for the entire 1997 season but returned to the diamond in 1998 to spend four seasons in the independent league. In 1998-99, he pitched for the Bridgeport Bluefish in Connecticut, where he posted a 24-10 record through two seasons as a starter. He moved on to the Winnipeg Goldeyes for 2000-01, which was the end of the road for Conner.
Overall, Scott Conner went 3-3 with a 3.60 ERA in 65 games for the Keys, ten of which he started. His career stats, including his time in the independents, have him at 51-41 and a 4.27 ERA.
Make sure to “Like” Us on Facebook to have your chance at the next Former Frederick Friday!
Former Frederick Friday Players
November 2nd: Ron Kitchen
November 9th: Scott Conner
Brandon Apter
jpkurkjian
Mike Mueller
Frederick Keys Baseball
Recent Comments