Results tagged ‘ Keyote ’
O’s Minor League spring training schedule starts today
Orioles minor league players start their spring training games this afternoon at 1 p.m. against Tampa Bay and Atlanta. Our man in Florida sent us a picture of the schedule, Sundays, however, did not make the photo.
So until we get a new one, here’s the minor league schedule, Monday-Saturday:
*Believe it or not, the Keys’ opening day is just 23 days away. And Keyote is getting restless.
*For those of you who like numbers, equations, advanced statistics and things of that nature, it’s worth taking a look at this milb.com article on Minor League park factors and run environments written by Ashley Marshall. Essentially, the article takes a look at how conducive each Minor League park and league is to offense.
Based on Marshall’s findings, Harry Grove Stadium is the most neutral ballpark in the fairly low-scoring Carolina League. Since 2008, the Carolina League has averaged 4.5 runs per game, which ranks 15th among 21 leagues. Using the equation listed in the story — ((Runs scored at home + runs allowed at home)/(Home games)) / ((Runs scored on the road + runs allowed on the road)/(Road games)) — Harry Grove Stadium’s park factor based on runs scored is 1.002. A neutral park factor is 1.000, representing “an equal number of runs/homers/hits at home as on the road,” according to the story. Factors over 1.000 favor hitters and factors under 1.000 favor pitchers.
While the Grove is neutral when it comes to runs scored, its home run factor is the highest in the Carolina League at 1.689. Winston-Salem is second at 1.189. While the Grove is favorable to dingers, its overall hit rate is just .967. Read the full article here.
*The Orioles held an intrasquad game at spring training yesterday and filled out the lineups with some minor leaguers. Here’s Roch Kubatko’s notes from the game.
*In case you missed it, we released our 2013 promotional schedule yesterday. A taste: Cowboy Monkeys, Peter Bondra, Tim Kurkjian bobblehead, Man on Fire, 50-cent hot dog night. View the schedule on the Keys’ website.
*KeysFest is March 30 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Single game tickets go on sale at Keys Fest, which is just 17 days from now. All the info on the fan event, which will host the Tots2Tweens egg hunt and national anthem auditions, is here.
Shake your Keys.
Harlem Shake your Keys (updated with spring training info)
At long last, here it is:
Keyote, Frank Key and the Frederick Keys front office do the Harlem Shake.
Meanwhile, down in spring training:
– Like I menitoned in yesterday’s post about the Orioles’ intrasquad games, Eduardo Rodriguez, who’s in part one of our countdown of potential 2013 Frederick Keys, is slated to pitch during today’s intrasquad game.
*I’ll update on Rodriguez’s outing as information becomes available.
-MASN’s Roch Kubatko’s notes from the intrasquad game list Rodriguez’s outing as striking out Manny Machado, walking Nate McLouth and hitting Steve Pearce.
-2012 Key Kevin Gausman retired all four batters he faced, showing good velocity, Kubatko writes in his intrasquad game story.
Harlem Shake your Keys.
Promo Preview: Royalty, Star Wars & Mustaches Invade Harry Grove
It is a time that you should be happy to live in Frederick, Keys fans. This upcoming homestand not only has the usual family, friendly atmosphere that we offer, but also brings a WWE Hall of Famer to the Grove, a Star Wars celebration for Keyote’s birthday and a tribute to one of the greatest pieces of facial hair, the mustache. The Keys return home on Thursday for a seven game homestand with match-ups against the Southern Division leading, Winston-Salem Dash, and the Wilmington Blue Rocks. The Keys lost two out of three to the Dash this past weekend but have had a lot of success against the Rocks.
When the Keys return on Thursday, it will be 80′s Night at Harry Grove Stadium. Player headshots on the videoboard will be themed for the 1980s along with music throughout the game. Staff will be dressed up in 80′s clothing whether it is crazy neon stuff or something else. I was born in 1987 so I didn’t get to experience too much of the 80′s but the music is good and so are the cartoons…the Super Mario Bros. Super Show being one of my favorites…
Friday night at 7pm is Salute to the Blue Collar Worker and more importantly an appearance by WWE Hall of Famer, Jerry “The King” Lawler. The King is not only well-known for his wrestling and announcing, but also coming to minor league parks to spend time with fans to take pictures and sign autographs. This past weekend, Lawler was in Atlanta for a wrestling convention and wrestling journalist, Bill Apter (my dad), talked to Jerry about his upcoming visit to the Keys game. Should be a fun time, so bring your wrestling memorabilia, disposable/real cameras and babies to get signed as the King makes his way to Frederick! Ok, you don’t have to get your baby signed.
Fast forwarding to Sunday at 2PM, the Keys will celebrate Keyote’s birthday in a way that has never been done before. Keyote will have the force with him come Sunday afternoon as his birthday is set to be a Star Wars theme. Members from the Defenders of the Force and the Rebel Legion will be in attendance and will feature over 10 Star Wars characters and performances on the field in between innings. The guy in charge of the Defenders of the Force, Chris Harper, gives an explanation of what his group does…
The Defenders of the Force is an organization comprised of individuals with a passion for giving back to the community and a love of the Star Wars Universe as created by Lucasfilm Ltd. The members of the Defenders of the Force have banded together to recreate the lightsaber battles seen in the films and television series and to create their own stories, characters, and lightsaber battles based in the Star Wars Universe. These lightsaber battles are performed at events with the sole purpose of assisting charitable organizations and supporting the community.
Fans can get into the game early, 12:30PM to be exact, for just $13! That $13 includes a general admission ticket along with a hot dog, chips and a drink for a pre-game picnic with all of the Star Wars characters and Keyote’s mascot friends.
The last day I choose to highlight is Wednesday, August 17th. Here with the Keys this month, it is Mustache August. Game time is at 7PM and it is Tribute to the Mustache Night. What better?! Not only will fans that have mustaches receive a ticket discount (no goatees allowed!) BUT the first 500 fans that may be too young or too cool for a real mustache will receive a stick-on mustache as they enter the gates. There is nothing better than a Wednesday night of hot Carolina League action while taking the time to tribute the mustache. We will be having Name that Mustache Trivia along with other exciting events taking place. Not to mention, some Keys staff members have decided to grow mustaches of their own…
Anyways, I hope to see you all out at the Grove sometime in the next seven games. Make sure to stop by the box office or give us a buzz at 877.8.GO.KEYS to get tickets for any of these games OR for our playoff games on September 7th & 8th…..PLAYOFFS?! YES! PLAYOFFS!
That being said, Shake Your Keys!
-Brandon Apter
Brandon Apter
jpkurkjian
Mike Mueller
Frederick Keys Baseball
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