Steve Mears: Jayson Werth's transition to left field and his family's baseball history

There is this player in Nationals Park who has a cheering section out there in the unheralded part that is tucked in between the foul pole and the visitors bullpen in Section 105. That's right, it's left field where the man they call "The Beard," "The Werewolf" or some just refer to as "J-Dub" - as Bryce Harper likes to call him - plays his position. Jayson Werth started his career as a catcher, tried some first base and then got moved into the outfield.

When the Nationals signed Werth as a free agent on December 5, 2010, it shocked the baseball world. The Nationals on that day pulled off the biggest deal to date in their history with a seven-year, $126 million contract, and Werth became an everyday right fielder over in front of Sections 139 and 140. Werth could cover so much ground back in the 2011 season that he would be sprinting after balls near Section 142 and 143 if he had to. Moving Harper last year to right field created this left field gig for Jayson.

To this day, fans will debate this free agent signing, and if you try to equate dollars to player value at his current $21 million per year salary, you will just frustrate yourself. Enjoy the ride and see what "J-Dub" can do as he may surprise you at 37 minus three days. Yes, on Friday in Miami, we will be celebrating Werth's 37th birthday. Jayson's age is brought up often, and he knows from his ex-teammate and good friend Raúl Ibañez that your mind plays cruel tricks on an aging body. But Werth knows he has some mileage remaining.

Werth talks of the day when he saw his career flash before his eyes as he suffered a serious wrist injury, and he made it back from that. He keeps bouncing back, and that's Jayson Werth. He learned that resilience as a young boy speaking to his grandfather Dick "Ducky" Schofield, who played his last game before he turned 37. He learned life lessons from his uncle Dick Schofeild, whose career ended right before his 34th birthday, and Jayson is determined to not let age dictate how long he plays and let his performance on the field determine that.

Schofield was a tiny man, and even at 5'9" and 160 pounds, there were seasons he couldn't hit his weight. He made the St. Louis Cardinals team and debuted as an 18-year-old infielder. Schofield played in 19 major league seasons but never close to a full year, appearing in an average of 69 games a year. He was mostly a utility bench player, something he took great pride in. Schofield was teammates with some great ones like Stan Musial, and played alongside Eddie Stanky, who was a player-manager at the time. Schofield was traded to the Pirates, becoming teammates with Roberto Clemente and getting a ring in 1960 with Bill Mazeroski. Schofield was also teammates with Sandy Koufax, Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays all in the 1966 season. Schofield knew perseverance and life lessons. Werth's stepfather, Dennis Werth, played a few years in the majors and was finished by 29. Jayson has surpassed them all in playing age and his grandfather, like Jayson, has one World Series ring. Jayson is determined to get another before he hangs up his jersey for the last time.

A few weeks ago, Werth went over that left field wall in front of Section 105 to rob a home run from Byron Buxton, and this new defensive alignment started to pay dividends where he has been playing a little deeper. He robbed a sure double last week off the wall. It had been a while since Werth went over the wall to rob a homer, and the last time he did it was in St. Louis in 2012 when he leaped above the State Farm sign to rob the Cardinals' Daniel Descalso of a two-run home run in the sixth inning in the National League Division Series.

Werth is still robbing home runs and making plays, and actually is third on the 2016 Nationals with 20 RBIs, which is three behind Daniel Murphy. Werth has been quietly accumulating RBIs out of that six hole and is on pace for 86 this season.

Don't count Jayson Werth out. He will persevere and pleasantly surprise you if you let him.