Dontrelle Willis

Dontrelle Wayne Willis (born January 12, 1982 in Oakland, California), popularly known as "D-Train," is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the Florida Marlins who made his debut in 2003 and went on to win the 2003 World Series. He is known for his very exaggerated, high leg kick in his pitch delivery, a trait which has drawn comparisons to Hall of Famer Juan Marichal. Willis attended Encinal High School in Alameda%2C California, where he played baseball for four years. He bats and throws left handed, and he is considered one of the best hitting pitchers in the majors.

Accomplishments

• National League All-Star, 2003 and 2005
• On September 3, 2005, Willis beat the New York Mets, to earn his 19th win of the season. With that win, Willis passed Carl Pavano's franchise record for wins in a season, established the previous year, when Pavano won 18 games.
• On September 8, 2005, Willis became the first Marlin ever to win 20 games in a season with a 12-1 defeat of the Washington Nationals. He became just the 12th African American pitcher to win 20 games in a season, joining the "Black Aces", a club that also includes one Black Canadian in Ferguson Jenkins. He was also the first African American pitcher to win 20 games since Dave Stewart won 22 in 1990.
• In 2005, he became the third player in modern baseball history to win 20 games and collect 20 hits in the same season.
• On September 22, 2005, he batted seventh in the Marlins' lineup. No other pitcher had batted seventh since the Montreal Expos' Steve Renko batted seventh against the San Diego Padres on August 26, 1973. http://florida.marlins.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050922&content_id=1220090&vkey=news_fla&fext=.jsp&c_id=fla