Frederick, MD - Two former Frederick Keys, Jerry Hairston Jr. (New York (AL)) and Jayson Werth (Philadelphia), are matched up in this year's World Series, two of 26 former Frederick Keys to play in the major leagues in 2009.Hairston Jr. (1998) hit .283 in 80 games with Frederick in his second professional season. The Orioles 11th round pick in the 1997 draft, Hairston Jr. worked his way up to the big leagues at the end of the 1998 campaign, playing eight games with Baltimore. In 2009, Hairston Jr. began the season with Cincinnati but was traded to the Yankees on July 31st for a minor leaguer. He batted .237 in 45 games as a utility man for New York after the trade.
Werth had a true breakout season in Philadelphia, a full decade after being a catcher on the Frederick Keys. Werth (1999, 2000) played 90 games with the Keys over two seasons. He combined to bat .298 with five home runs in that span. He made his big league debut with Toronto in September of 2002, and also played with the Dodgers before making his way to Philadelphia. Now an outfielder, Werth had one of the most prolific offensive seasons for a former Key, hitting 36 home runs while driving home 99 runs this season. A fixture in the middle of the vaunted Phillies order, Werth stroked two home runs in Game Three of the World Series.
The wide range of former Frederick Keys who played in the big leagues in 2009 stretches from Cincinnati reliever Arthur Rhodes (1989, 1990) to Orioles rookie starter Brian Matusz (2009). Rhodes was the fifth Key ever to reach the major leagues. In 2009, Orioles starter David Hernandez became the 100th. Six former Keys made their major league debuts. All did so with Baltimore. 14 Orioles in 2009 played in Frederick prior. Keys were a part of 12 different big league rosters this year.
A full list of former Keys in the big leagues in 2009 is below. They are listed in the order in which they made their big league debuts:
Arthur Rhodes (1989-90) Cincinnati
Gregg Zaun (1992) Baltimore, Tampa Bay
Sidney Ponson (1996) Kansas City
Jerry Hairston Jr. (1998) Cincinnati, New York (AL)
Augie Ojeda (1997) Arizona
Josh Towers (1997-98) New York (AL)
Brian Roberts (2000) Baltimore
Erik Bedard (2001) Seattle
Jayson Werth (1999, 2000) Philadelphia
John Maine (2003) New York (NL)
Mike Fontenot (2002) Chicago (NL)
Jeff Fiorentino (2005) Baltimore
Hayden Penn (2004) Florida
Chris Ray (2004) Baltimore
Nick Markakis (2005) Baltimore
Jim Johnson (2005) Baltimore
Garrett Olson (2005-06) Seattle
Radhames Liz (2006) Baltimore
Kevin Hart (2006) Chicago (NL) Pittsburgh
Bob McCrory (2007) Baltimore
Brad Bergesen (2007-08) Baltimore
Nolan Reimold (2005-06) Baltimore
Jason Berken (2007) Baltimore
David Hernandez (2007) Baltimore
Matt Wieters (2008) Baltimore
Brian Matusz (2009) Baltimore
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