Former MLB pitcher and current Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster Dontrelle Willis will be inducted into the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum Hall of Fame in Kansas City, Missouri.
Willis was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the eighth round of the 2000 MLB Draft but only pitched in parts of two seasons with the organization. The left-hander was traded to the Florida Marlins in 2002, with whom he immediately found success.
Willis won the National League Rookie of the Year Award, earned an All-Star Game selection and helped the Marlins win the World Series in 2003. Two years later, he went 22-10 with a 2.63 ERA, seven complete games and five shutouts en route to a second-place finish in Cy Young voting.
The left-hander spent two more seasons with the Marlins before he was sent to the Detroit Tigers in a blockbuster trade that included Miguel Cabrera during the 2007 offseason.
Willis appeared in parts of three seasons with the Tigers before going on to pitch for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Cincinnati Reds. The 2003 World Series champion threw his last MLB pitch on September 27, 2011, but didn’t officially retire until 2015.
In nine MLB seasons, Willis went 72-69 with a 4.17 ERA, 4.22 FIP and 1.43 WHIP in 1,221.2 innings pitched across 205 games (202 starts). Along with his success on the mound, Willis was one of the better hitting pitchers of his era, slugging nine home runs.
Dontrelle Willis joined Dodgers organization in 2021
The Dodgers hired Willis as a special assistant in 2021 and he joined the SportsNet LA broadcast team the following year. He also has served as a studio analyst for Fox Sports since 2015.
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