The Frederick Keys are preparing for Manny Mania
When fans in Frederick County see the Frederick Keys van motoring around the area, they can see a picture of Manny Machado on one side of the van from when he played with the Keys in 2011.
Friday night in Frederick they'll get to see the real thing.
Machado will play with the Keys on Friday night, and perhaps stay longer, as he begins a rehab assignment.
Frederick general manager Dave Ziedelis said Manny Mania for the Keys started not long after yesterday's announcement that Machado was heading their way.
"It really started overnight with internet sales," Ziedelis said. "Really an explosion of sales for Friday. Our attendance doubled for Friday's game overnight. The best analogy for us is certainly Dylan Bundy's debut here saw that type of explosion.
"As far as rehabs go, we go back to when Miguel Tejada played here in 2007 on a Thursday in July. Those are our benchmarks for this type of event."
Ziedelis said he expects to see a sellout of 5,400 for Friday's game. There could be more with the potential to sell standing room only tickets.
"I do, yeah, definitely," Ziedelis said. "It's a Friday evening, fireworks (postgame). Already it was a popular game, but certainly this puts it on a different level."
It is always a big event when an Oriole player heads to an affiliate for a rehab appearance.
"It is certainly very special when you have a star caliber player come to your town," Ziedelis said. "What makes it extra special with Manny is he played here three years ago. Our fans saw him on the way up. We won a championship with Manny and we know him well. To see him come here is a nice experience for all the fans.
"It's the beauty of the Orioles' affiliations all being close. Fans can see players make their way up from Aberdeen to Delmarva, Frederick, Bowie, Norfolk and then Camden Yards.
"You look back three years ago, our double play combination was Manny at short and (Jonathan) Schoop at second. To see the guys now with the Orioles, it's just a great thing."
If you are looking for a ticket, you should probably try to get one soon. You can call the Keys at 301-662-0013 or go online at frederickkeys.com. The gates will open at 6 p.m. Friday for the game against Myrtle Beach at 7 p.m.
"I would act sooner, than later," Ziedelis said. "Our field level seats are basically sold out and reserve seats are starting to go."
Frederick general manager Dave Ziedelis said Manny Mania for the Keys started not long after yesterday's announcement that Machado was heading their way.
"It really started overnight with internet sales," Ziedelis said. "Really an explosion of sales for Friday. Our attendance doubled for Friday's game overnight. The best analogy for us is certainly Dylan Bundy's debut here saw that type of explosion.
"As far as rehabs go, we go back to when Miguel Tejada played here in 2007 on a Thursday in July. Those are our benchmarks for this type of event."
Ziedelis said he expects to see a sellout of 5,400 for Friday's game. There could be more with the potential to sell standing room only tickets.
"I do, yeah, definitely," Ziedelis said. "It's a Friday evening, fireworks (postgame). Already it was a popular game, but certainly this puts it on a different level."
It is always a big event when an Oriole player heads to an affiliate for a rehab appearance.
"It is certainly very special when you have a star caliber player come to your town," Ziedelis said. "What makes it extra special with Manny is he played here three years ago. Our fans saw him on the way up. We won a championship with Manny and we know him well. To see him come here is a nice experience for all the fans.
"It's the beauty of the Orioles' affiliations all being close. Fans can see players make their way up from Aberdeen to Delmarva, Frederick, Bowie, Norfolk and then Camden Yards.
"You look back three years ago, our double play combination was Manny at short and (Jonathan) Schoop at second. To see the guys now with the Orioles, it's just a great thing."
If you are looking for a ticket, you should probably try to get one soon. You can call the Keys at 301-662-0013 or go online at frederickkeys.com. The gates will open at 6 p.m. Friday for the game against Myrtle Beach at 7 p.m.
"I would act sooner, than later," Ziedelis said. "Our field level seats are basically sold out and reserve seats are starting to go."
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