Fifteen seconds.

That's how long Marian Colts senior Daniel Keer gives himself to calm down when something doesn't go his way.Whether it was a bad swing at the plate or giving up a hit from the mound, Keer uses that time to refocus and move on to the next play.During the 2017 baseball season, however, it's safe to say that Keer wasn't counting to 15 very often.Keer's performance, both with his bat and his arm, helped Marian win back-to-back District 11 2A titles, a state playoff game, and last but not least, earned him the 2017 Times News Baseball Player of the Year Award.Statistics have always been paramount in the game of baseball. It's a sport where they count everything from batting average and slugging percentage to strikeouts per inning. There's no doubt you need to have exceptional statistics to earn Player of the Year honors, and Keer sure has achieved that mark, but one of the most important qualities in a most valuable player candidate is leadership.Heading into the season, the Colts graduated nine out of 10 key players from their 2016 District 11 2A Championship team, so naturally a leader was in high demand. Head coach Tony Radocha was well aware of that, so as soon as the 2016 season ended, he had a very important sit-down with Keer."We sat down and I told him that it was his show next season, and I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was ready to undertake that role," Radocha said. "I asked him what he wanted out of next season and he told me straight out that he wanted another district championship. I told him that was going to take a big-time effort from him, not only from a playing standpoint, but from a leadership standpoint, and he definitely didn't let anyone down."It was a big change for Keer, who per Radocha usually let his play do the talking for him. The experience he gained as a three-year starter for the Colts and the countless innings of baseball he's played in his career certainly played a factor in his accelerated leadership role. Also, there was the fact that Keer knew for his team to compete for another district championship that he had to step up at the plate both literally and figuratively."It was definitely a big change for me, but we have such a great group of guys and the other seniors were there with me to help lead our team," Keer said. "As a team we just kept rallying and rallying as the season went on. Even at times when weren't playing great, we would always find a way to bounce back. I think you could really see us all come together after we won at Panther Valley on a walk-off. That's when we knew we were going to win the championship again."As noted, Keer had the statistics to back up his leadership qualities in 2017.He terrorized the competition day in and day out from the plate, batting .430 with 23 RBIs and three home runs. He had a slugging percentage of .620, scored 21 runs, and perhaps his most impressive offensive stat was that he went down swinging just two times the entire season."Last season I was seeing a lot of fastballs, which I was able to take advantage of. This season, I knew being the only starter back that I was going to see a lot of different pitches, and I did. I saw a lot of breaking balls, change-ups, stuff like that, so I had to be patient," Keer said. "I was able to stay disciplined throughout the season and I didn't swing at many bad pitches."Keer, along with his new leadership role, took on the ace role for the Colts from the mound. Keer was used as a pitcher in the past for Marian, but never pitched more than 20 innings in a single season until 2017. Keer finished the year with a 4-3 record, 3.11 earned run average, 50 strikeouts, and 32 walks in 45 innings."Daniel was our bulldog on the mound all year long. Early in the season he really was key because our other pitchers just weren't ready to go yet. He's always been a talented pitcher, but we've been fortunate to have a bevy of arms, so we never had to use him that much in prior years," said Radocha. "This year, he played all the roles we needed him to play at pitcher from starter to closer. It was a great effort from him and it showed everybody how talented of a baseball player he really is."Keer will now be taking his talents to Division 2 Shepherd University in West Virginia. The Rams were the 2017 Mountain East Conference Champions. Keer hopes that he can bring the same intangibles to the Rams that he brought while sporting the blue and gold."I just want to bring the same toughness and style of play that I played with at Marian to Shepherd," said Keer. "I'm really excited for the opportunity to play college baseball and I can't wait to start a new chapter."