Dontrelle Willis
Dontrelle Willis
Dontrelle Wayne Willis, nicknamed "The D-Train", is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseballfor the Florida Marlins, Detroit Tigers, Arizona Diamondbacks and Cincinnati Reds. Willis was notable for his success during his first few years in the MLB and for his unconventional pitching style, which included a high leg kick and exaggerated twisting away from the batter. He was named the 2003 National League Rookie of the Year...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBaseball Player
Date of Birth12 January 1982
CityOakland, CA
CountryUnited States of America
Nothing ceases to amaze me about what he's doing now. I've seen what he can do my whole life. It's a beautiful thing to see how talented he is now. Everybody who knew him knew he was destined to do great things.
I feel we already won more games this year than everybody expected us to. We've shown we can compete.
When I walked into the locker room, everybody said I had to stop sliding headfirst. Before I even got in there, they were telling me, 'Would you please stop?' Even American League guys were saying that. Vernon Wells said, 'Please stop sliding headfirst.' They all love the enthusiasm and intensity I show.
I'll never forget how nervous I was. It was almost like getting transferred to a new high school in your senior year. Everybody watching you. I was so erratic they either swung or I almost hit them. But it's funny. They still believed in me. I thought I was going to get released after that.
I feel I let my team down today, ... My heart is bleeding for everybody else. I felt like I should have gotten it done today. That's how it is. Sometimes you do, sometimes you don't.
I knew the situation. You knew where they were going with all the trades, so I kind of figured I was going to go to a one-year deal, which is fine with me. Everybody wants that 'A-Rod' 10-year, $25 million deal but you have to deal with circumstances. I'm just definitely excited to make more than $375,000 (his 2005 salary).
I've said early on, it comes down to consistency and being able to do it inning after inning, ... Things are coming together, and I hope to build off it.
I've played some baseball games just to see what I look like and it looked dead-on like me.
It would be a high honor, most definitely.
It was all positive. I'm just happy I'm employed again.
I understand where (the teams) are coming from; we're all investments whether we make $500,000 or $5 million. Injuries are unfortunate things that can happen any time during the year. ... You just have to suit up and represent your country.
Especially the last couple of days people were very excited, more excited than I was, ... I was eager to see how things were going to turn out, but I slept easy (Wednesday) night. ... I'm the second-best pitcher in the National League, which is not that dang bad.
Everything was good today -- getting my legs back into it. I was just trying to get into situations where I have to make a pitch. It was all fun getting back into it.
The resilience of the team showed tonight. We could have packed it in early, especially the way they were hitting the ball. We didn't. We kept the game close.