D-Train Ready To Leave Station?

The Tigers traded 28 year old Dontrelle Willis to the Arizona Diamondbacks earlier today for Billy Buckner, no relationship to the Buckner of the 1986 World Series.

Five years ago, I would have never predicted this scenario for Willis. As a Marlins fan (Yes, we are not an endangered species), nothing in the sport of baseball has pained me more than to watch Willis’s game wilt into nothing.

Everyone seems to forget how D-Train captivated the baseball world with his Wiffle Ball like windup and his showman mentality. Willis, the 2003 Rookie of the Year, was a performer and the mound was his Broadway. D-Train visibly brought style, passion, flare, and fun to a deprived Florida Marlins team in 2003. His dominance mixed with his entertaining delivery revived a fan base and propelled the Marlins into the World Series that season. Willis’s personality was infectious amongst all fans.

The 23 year old was the reason why the Marlins miraculously won the World Series that season against a superior New York Yankees team. He only pitched 3.2 innings in the World Series, but he was the player responsible for getting the Fish to the playoffs. Willis temporarily saved baseball in Florida.

On May 22nd the Marlins were 10 games below .500 and looked poised for another horrible season. After his call up, on May 9th Willis went on to go 14-6 with a 3.30 ERA and 142 strikeouts in 160.2 innings that season to provide a spark to the franchise. After the Marlins won the World Series, I expected Willis’s career to take off…and well, it did. In 2005, Willis went 22-10 with a 2.63 ERA and finished second in the CY Young voting behind Cardinals’ Chris Carpenter. His gigantic smile and quirky delivered seemed perfect for commercial success. D-Train was going to be one of the MLB’s poster boys.

But over the next two seasons Willis struggled, leading the Marlins to trade the starter with Miguel Cabrera to Detroit. Four years later, Willis’s permanent smile is a distant memory. Willis went 12-23 with a 5.73 ERA for the Tigers while suffering from various injuries and an anxiety disorder…a far cry from the pitcher he once was.

This trade needs to revive Willis. I can not accept the fact that Dontrelle Willis will be remembered for being a bust. Willis was one of the game’s most exciting players to witness. I know he still has that same swagger inside of him that he had back with the Marlins. He needs a franchise and a fan base to believe in him again, so he can recapture his old form by believing in himself. I hope D-Train will get back on the fast track he once was speeding down.