Dontrelle Willis Makes His Return To Major League Baseball
Yes, you read that right. The former Marlins starting pitcher Dontrelle Willis is returning to baseball just in time for Spring Training. The Los Angeles Dodgers hired him as a special assistant with an emphasis on player development. So no, he won’t be on the mound, making the Dodgers even more lethal than they actually are. He will though, be sitting in the dugout alongside Manager Dave Roberts and pitching coach Mark Prior.
Dontrelle Willis was once one of the scariest pitchers to face in the early to mid-2000s. The D-Train took home Rookie of the Year honors in 2003 and narrowly missed out on winning the Cy Young Award in 2005. In ’05, he led the league with 22 wins and a 2.63 Earned Run Average. Everyone thought he was set to be one of the best pitchers in all of baseball. His career, however, just took a sharp tumble. Bad luck seemed to strike Willis directly, whether it was just a bad season or an injury. He found himself on and off the disabled list and on and off Major League Rosters. He is very arguably a “sad case.”
It was to a point where you just felt sorry for the guy. Nowadays, the Dodgers see perhaps his wisdom and his turbulent career as the knowledge he could pass down to young players. It’s knowledge on how to avoid injury again or even learn how to be stronger as an athlete. With all the young arms who carry so much potential in Los Angeles, Willis could definitely be a solid mentor for them as they move up to the big state. Dontrelle deserves a chance and the league should absolutely be there for him.
