The Final Score podcast: Keys, Ghost Hounds general manager Andrew Klein describes reaction to new team's name

Jul. 6—What is a Ghost Hound? And what is the plan to bring affiliated minor league baseball back to Frederick?

Andrew Klein, the general manager of the Frederick Keys and the Spire City Ghost Hounds, answers those questions and more on this week's episode of The Final Score podcast.

Klein chats with host Greg Swatek about the addition of the Ghost Hounds, who play in the independent Atlantic League, to the baseball scene in Frederick. Why did Attain Sports, which owns and runs the Keys and the Ghost Hounds, feel that an additional team was needed? And what has the general fan reaction been to the Ghost Hounds so far?

He also discusses the future of professional baseball in Frederick. What are the current plans to renovate Nymeo Field? Are there ongoing discussions to bring an affiliated team to town? And when might that happen?

Prior to that discussion, FNP sports writer Alexander Dacy joins Greg to talk about Urbana High graduate and Washington Nationals prospect Trey Lipscomb playing in Double-A Harrisburg and Catoctin High ace pitcher Joey McMannis potentially being drafted next week.

The podcast is available at fnppodcasts.com and via iTunes, Google Play and other podcast apps.

What follows is an excerpt of the conversation between Klein and Swatek. It has been edited for clarity and space.

Swatek: The Atlantic League team just recently announced its name. It played almost the first two months of the season without a name. First off, why was there a delay with naming the team from the start of the season?

Klein: Yeah, everything was kind of working in fast forward, if you want to call it that. I found out the team was going to be here in Frederick in late November, and then we announced it publicly. And then, we wanted to go about things the right way. We didn't want to do things halfway just to get it out there and to get in front of fans. We wanted to do things the right way because we expect to be here for a long time and be able to be a part of the community proper. And so, in the beginning of January, we started our Name The Team contest. ... Then, we were able to narrow down the names, and have the vote on the final five. And, in all of that, we still had to work on, obviously, logo design and jersey design, hat design, all the things that come with it. And the decision was made that it would really make the most sense to start the season kind of with a holder logo. We had the question mark. We have a Maryland flag logo that we are using still for portions of stuff. Rather than rushing something out that we're not proud of, we'd prefer to start a little bit later with the actual name and be able to do that.

Swatek: How did fans feel about the nameless team, the question marks on the jerseys? What reaction were you getting there?

Klein: A lot of people, they thought it was funny. They thought it was unique. I mean, we knew, at the end of the day, as long as people are talking about it, that's the most important thing for that identity. Just because, again, with it being brand new to the area. If you can get people talking about it, that's going to be valuable to us because that means they're going to be curious, they're going to want to know what's coming next.

Swatek: If fans go to a Ghost Hounds game or they go to a Keys game, will they notice much of a difference in the overall experience?

Klein: Yeah. We've been working on all of that. I mean, obviously, again, we're only a week or so into the Ghost Hounds brand being out there. It's been funny, just in the first week going to Ghost Hounds games. We've got howling going on when we score runs because now we've got the Hounds. And we're doing things differently on purpose because we do want them to be different brands. And we want them to be appealing for different reasons. So, you're not going to see people shaking their keys during the seventh inning stretch during a Ghost Hounds game.

Swatek: The future of all of this, I want to ask you about that. Because Attain Sports on a number of occasions has stated that the goal is to bring an affiliated team back to Frederick. What can you tell us about where that stands right now? And what are the plans right now with Nymeo Field?

Klein: We did a good number of renovations this offseason. We replaced the the actual playing field right after the season ended. So, they're playing on brand new turf this season, which was a nice investment. But then, beyond that, we added in a brand new sound system in partnership with the city. We added a lot of new storage to this facility, both in the clubhouses and in other areas. If you walk up to the stadium itself, you'll notice that the chain link fence that was at the front gate is now wrought iron. ... But then, beyond that, we are also working with both the city and the Maryland Stadium Authority towards getting the upgrades that are needed in terms of the field and the stadium to get us back up to what's considered PDL, professional development license, standards so that we can be able to host an affiliated team again.

Swatek: The other unanswerable I probably have to ask is do you have a timeframe for when we might see affiliated ball back in Frederick?

Klein: Like I said, a project like this, it's tough to say just because you don't know how long a construction project is going to take, especially a renovation. My hope is that it's going to be in the next few years, that we'd have everything up and running and be able to bring back affiliated ball. But I really wouldn't be able to give any kind of timeline at this point.

Follow Greg Swatek on Twitter: @greg_swatek