Keith Werman Heads to World Series With UVA Squad

His fans call him "The Ninja" for the stealth he brings to the baseball diamond.

But Keith Werman has a humbler take on his style of play: "I just do what I can to help out."

For the second time in three years, Keith has helped his University of Virginia Cavaliers get to Omaha, Neb., for the College World Series.

But for the first time in his life, he is in the middle of a slump.

For the 2009 World Series, Keith, an Oakton High graduate, hit .600 for the tournament — a performance that followed a 16-game end of season streak in which he hit .442.

When the Cavaliers face the University of California at Berkeley Golden Bears at 2 p.m. Sunday for their first game of this year's series, Keith will bring a .210 average to the plate.

In his first two seasons, he averaged .410.

"It's how baseball is. You're not always going to have those great numbers," said Keith, a 21-year-old junior from Oakton. "It's something I have to learn from. It's a challenge, but it's something that's going to make me a better player in the future. I try to approach every game thinking, 'How can I help these guys out?' If I'm not hitting, I'll find something else."

To maneuver through a hitting slump while still being productive isn't much of a stretch for his style of play. He has always focused on the "little things," like laying down a good sacrifice bunt, always hustling and sticking to fundamentals while playing second base. He's always trying to do something, often quietly and distinctly, to help his team win.

Often the smallest kid on the field — he now stands at 5'7" and 150 pounds — he knows he's not going to be the power hitter who hits a walk-off homer with regularity.

"I came in my first year just wanting to do whatever I could to play and help the team. I still feel that way," Keith said.

And if he has learned anything from his father and older brother, who both coached him growing up, he's learned one must fail with grace to stand a chance of succeeding again.

"When he first started struggling this year, it started to affect his defense a little. But he got himself together defensively in these playoffs," said , his father. "He just does so many little things that people just don't realize until you look for it. They call him The Ninja because of that stealth. It fits him."

Keeping a cool head seems to be a family trait. Brother Kyle described all three of the Werman men as "unemotional" in competition.

"We don't really get too high and don't really get too low," said Kyle, a UVA alumnus and an assistant coach for Radford University's baseball program. "I think that makes it easier when you get in a stressful situation. We always try to have fun, and that helps when you're in a pressure situation."

With an eight-year age difference, Kyle was able to take Keith under his wing at a young age and without any sibling rivalry to taint what would evolve into a coach-player relationship at Oakton High School.

"Keith and I kinda learned the game together. I was really getting into the game when I was like 10 or 11, and as he started walking, he was like my little protégé," said Kyle, who played baseball for UVA and was drafted by the New York Mets in 2005. "Everything I learned, I just passed right on to him. And he picked it up right away. He always had natural ability."

Keith values all the coaching he received from his father and brother, crediting his father for teaching him to always enjoy the game and his brother for much of his technical abilities.

"Sure there were some car rides home when I didn't want to talk about my game, but they did," Keith said. "I look back on it now and realize how valuable those little conversations were in the long run. ... I can talk about my game with my brother and get good, honest constructive criticism. I'm lucky to have him still care so much about how I'm playing. No one knows me as a player the way he does."

As for the World Series, Kyle and Frank are working around their coaching schedule to attend every game, proud of the Cavaliers for making it back to Omaha and of Keith for battling through his slump.

"I know how hard he has worked, especially this year with his struggles," Kyle said. "For him to keep sticking it out and keeping his head up and finding a way to be productive despite a batting average that doesn't appear to be very productive, I'm really proud of him. I think it says a lot about him and how he handles the game."

And for Keith it's a dream come true — again.

"I'm just so proud of my team. They're one heck of a group to come back with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to get us into the World Series," Keith said. "It just shows you we're never going to give up on anything or anybody. We're in this thing until the end."