2003 World Series Game 7 Dontrelle Willis Pitching

Lore & Background

Willis was raised by his mother, Joyce, a retired member of Ironworkers Local 378, in Alameda, California. She played in elite-level softball leagues when Willis was a child. Willis never knew his father, Clinton Ostah, who was a minor league player in the 1970s. Growing up, Willis rooted for the Oakland Athletics as a child. Willis' favorite player was former Oakland Athletics' pitcher Dave Stewart.

Reader's Guide

Willis attended Encinal High School in Alameda, where he played baseball for four years. In Willis' senior year in 2000, he had a 0.70 earned run average (ERA) with 111 strikeouts in 70 innings pitched and was named California Player of the Year. He initially committed to play college baseball at Arizona State. He was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the eighth round of the 2000 Major League Baseball draft.

In 2001, Willis was promoted to the Boise Hawks of the Northwest League. He finished with eight wins and a 2.98 ERA. On March 27, 2002, the Cubs traded Willis, fellow pitchers Julián Tavárez and José Cueto, and catcher Ryan Jorgensen to the Florida Marlins, in exchange for pitchers Matt Clement and Antonio Alfonseca. After being traded, Willis struggled early on.

However, Willis started to get better as he got to low Class A ball. By the end of the season, he had a 10–2 win–loss record and finished the season with the Class-A Jupiter Hammerheads. In five starts, he went 2–0 with a 1.83 ERA, leading the Midwest League in ERA. For his performance, he was named the Marlins' Minor League Pitcher of the Year.

In the 2003 spring training, Willis reported to Jupiter. The plan was to start him with the Class-AA Carolina Mudcats. The hope was that he would make the leap to AAA, and potentially be available for a spot start in Florida or a back-of-the-bullpen job late in the season. The Marlins then sent Willis down to Carolina to work on consistency and control.

Willis went 4–0 with a 1.49 ERA for Carolina. On May 9, 2003, Willis made his major league debut for the Florida Marlins against the Colorado Rockies. He pitched six innings, allowed seven hits and three earned runs, and got a no decision. On May 14, in a start against the Padres, Willis went five innings, allowed five hits, three earned runs, and four walks, and received his first Major League win.

On June 16, Willis pitched nine innings and allowed no runs in a 1–0 victory over the Mets in his first career shutout. Willis' opponent in that game was Tom Glavine, one of his childhood heroes. Willis was named the National League Rookie of the Month for June 2003, becoming the first Marlins pitcher to be named Pitcher of the Month.

Did You Know?

• Willis is the only pitcher in Marlins history to win 20 games in a season.
• Willis became the first African-American pitcher to win 20 games in a season since Dave Stewart did it in 1990.
• Willis joined the television broadcast team of the Los Angeles Dodgers in May 2022.