The brief Cy Young contender: Dontrelle Willis

In honor of Juneteenth, let’s take a look at another former Miami Marlins star who is African-American. In this case it’s former ace starting pitcher Dontrelle Willis. Willis was with the then Florida Marlins (I’ll use the Miami Marlins name for convenience), for a brief period (2003-2007) but helped us win a championship (in 2003) and almost won a Cy Young award.

Dontrelle Willis helped the Miami Marlins win the World Series in 2003.

Dontrelle Willis was also a part of the notorious Miguel Cabrera trade. It’s a shame to bring that trade back up but it’s a part of Willis’s career. Willis arrested mmmmmmm

Dontrelle Willis was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 2000, but was traded to us in a multi-player trade in March 2002. He was called up by us next season and pitched to a 3.30 ERA/3.45 FIP with 8.0 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 27 games and 160.2 innings. That was an excellent and very promising debut, that led to a NL Rookie of the Year award.

Dontrelle Willis was also a part of our 2003 championship run, but unfortunately struggled to an 8.53 ERA in 7 games and 12.2 innings. Considering how Willis was only 21 years old.

2004 was Dontrelle Willis’s sophomore season and he followed up his Rookie of the Year award with a 4.02 ERA/4.01 FIP with 6.4 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 32 games and 197 innings. It was a disappointment, but sophomore campaigns often don’t go well for players strangely. Adjustment needs are probably the reason for that, but this too is for another time.

2005 was the season in which Dontrelle Willis became a superstar. He had a 2.63 ERA/2.99 FIP with 6.5 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 34 games and 236.1 innings. He also had a 22-10 win-loss record. He unfortunately only finished second in NL Cy Young voting. He deserved to win but did not.

In a sad turn of events, Dontrelle Willis never did better than that amazing 2005 season, that is still one of the top 5 by a Miami Marlins starting pitcher (future article). 2006 saw him pitch to a 3.87 ERA/4.31 FIP in 34 games and 223.1 innings. He was worse in 2007, with a 5.17 ERA/5.13 FIP in 35 games and 205.1 innings.

Dontrelle Willis was traded in the aforementioned trade after that season. His career sadly went downhill after that, but for two season he was an elite starting pitcher and that 2005 season is a part of Miami Marlins history.