The minor league baseball team, the Frederick Keys, recently lost its affiliation with the major league, but its General Manager Dave Ziebelis plans on keeping its fans.
“The majority of our fans come because of the entertainment that we put in place,” he told the Washington Examiner.
The Keys, whose home is Frederick, Maryland, was part of the minor league draft system that has provided players to the Baltimore Orioles for the past 31 years. That has changed. Under the new system, the team will still be a part of the MLB system, but its players will no longer be semi-pros. Instead, they will be younger, college-age amateurs who hope to one day play in the major leagues.
The change in the team’s fate is due to MLB last fall whittling down its number of minor league teams from 162 to 120, meaning 42 teams were cut.
Political heavyweights, such as Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, blasted MLB’s plan for trying to take away America’s national pastime.
“They have got to understand that this is not just a bottom-line business. This is the national pastime, and you don’t take away the rights of families and kids to see minor league baseball in order to just make a few bucks more,” he told Sports Illustrated.
Ken Young, the president and owner of the Frederick Keys, as well as other minor league teams, such as the Bowie Baysox and Norfolk Tides, told the Baltimore Sun that some teams would not survive the cut.
Ziebelis doesn’t think his team fits that profile.
When the Keys take the field in Frederick next season, Ziebelis, who is 55 and has spent the last 16 years managing minor league baseball clubs, thinks the fans will not notice that the players are younger and likely less experienced than in previous years.
“For all intents and purposes, 99% of our fans will not know the difference,” he said, adding that they will be focused on other things.
“We’re about family, the entertainment, and affordability,” he said.
Aside from baseball, visitors to Keys field can enjoy weekly fireworks displays, catch a hot dog thrown from the field by a man in a hot dog costume, or engage with the omnipresent mascot, Keyote, who entertains the children while their parents take photos. Carnival-type rides are also available for children in the Keys Fun Zone.
Another big attraction is the annual candy drop. Children surround the field and impatiently watch as a helicopter hovers roughly 30 feet above the outfield and drops candy to the ground.
“Just to see that come in and hover is cool,” Ziebelis said.
Shortly after the helicopter leaves the field, the children race to collect the sweets.
Stadium concessions are also big attractions. The drinks include local craft beer, such as 4 1/2 Taphouse, which was named after the number of innings required for a regulation baseball game. Food options run the gamut, from the aforementioned hot dogs to Roasthouse Pub Grilled Jerk Chicken.
“All these fun things we do, that doesn’t change,” he said, adding, “we’re not going to skip a beat.”
Because the attractions are so popular with the fans, Ziebelis doesn’t expect attendance to drop next year when the MLB changes take effect.
“We anticipate our attendance being very consistent,” he said.
The seating capacity at Keys stadium is 5,400. The team averaged 4,000 attendees per game in 2019, the last season to be played since the pandemic shutdown the entire 2020 season.
Still, the number of games played by the Keys in the 2021 season will be fewer because of the changes made by MLB, as the number of home games will be reduced from 70 to 34, Ziebelis said.
The shortened season will also start later, in late May instead of the early spring, meaning the games will occur when the weather is warmer and more inviting to fans, Ziebelis said.
“That’s really the sweet spot of our schedule. … Teams do not draw [attendance] well in April or early May. It’s cold. It’s rainy. School is still in session,” he said, adding that they expect the stadium to be “basically full” during the shortened 2021 season.
However, it’s an open question as to when the 2021 season will start because of the pandemic and the timing for people being vaccinated.
“There’s a possibility that we start on time, or close to that time,” Ziebelis said, adding that the entire league is in wait-and-see mode when it comes to Opening Day.
Playing as many games as possible next season will be important to the team’s bottom line because it is a self-funded operation that does not receive money from MLB.
“None in the past, and none moving forward. We are self-sufficient and self-sustaining in that regard,” Ziebelis said via email.
The team is also an economic engine for the broader community. It is estimated to generate over $15 million, according to Ziebelis, while providing 25 full-time and 250 part-time jobs.
These figures are not expected to change in 2021.
Tickets, which range from $10 to $15 for adults, are also not expected to increase next season.
“Things should be fairly consistent,” Ziebelis said.
