2007 was a great year
for collecting overall I was into a lot of dope sets that year Spectrum,
Allen&ginter as well as Topps Co-Signers. I was trying all kinds of
different sets and on a random Saturday afternoon I took a trip down to
Aventura mall and at the now defunct BC Sports card shop I purchased my 1st
Pack of Topps Co-signers. As I opened the pack and surveyed the cards
real quick One particular card caught my eye. I’m a huge Marlins fan and at the
time there were no 2 players I liked more then Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle
Willis. So when I saw and realized that in my hand I was holding an autograph
with 2 of my favorite Players to Ever wear the Black and Teal I began jumping
for joy. To this day this card remains among my favorites In my collection.
In
life we do a lot of looking back and over the course of life we say
things like “Wow that was ten years ago” this is one of those
times. In the year of 2003 I was 8 years old attending Dania
Elementary with not a care in the world. It was also the year that My
childhood's favorite baseball team captured a World Series when the
underdog Florida Marlins shocked the World by beating the powerhouse
New York Yankees in 6 games. It has already been 10 years and I
remember it like yesterday celebrating in the streets of Miami.
The
2003 Florida Marlins are one of the reasons I fell in love with
sports they proved the world wrong and made the media look like
idiots who thought the match up between them and the Yankees was a
mismatch. Looking back on it now that Team was very well structured
from top to bottom in all facets of the game.
At
the Top you had the Speed Duo of Luis Castillo and Juan Pierre who
combined for 391 Hits 76 stolen bases 199 runs scored while batting
well over 300. They were Perfect table setters for guys Like Mike
Lowell Pudge Rodriguez,Derek Lee to Knock them in and they did. They
were a productive line up who played small ball and manufactured
runs.
But
things didn't start all fine and dandy for the fish they got off to a
16-22 start which led to the firing of Jeff Torberg. Jack Mckeon was
summoned to take place of Torberg, “Trader Jack” as he is known
had been in Baseball longer then most of the Young Marlins roster had
been alive. The team went an Impressive 75-49 under Jack which added
up to a 91-71 record and a Wild Card Birth. They got there by
playing loose, Hard and more importantly playing the game the right
way.
In
the Middle of that 75-49 record for Jack Mckeon were 2 young
mid-season rookie Call-ups named Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis
that Heavily contributed to the success of the 03 Marlins. Cabrera a
20 year old kid at the time exploded on the Scene with an 11th
inning walk off Homerun off of Al Levine. Dontrelle Willis
Electrified South Florida and the rest of the MLB with his high
unorthodox leg kick which led him to a 14-6 record, All-Star
Appearance and the 2003 Rookie of the year award. The Kid from
Oakland was a fan favorite, The Kid from Venezuela was a young
superstar in the making. The 2 kids were some of the best players to
ever put on a Marlins jersey.
The
Post season for the 2003 Marlins was filled with Signature moments.
From the Collision at the plate between Pudge and J.T Snow in the
Division series to Steve Bartman the Marlins seem to have everything
going for them. If you look at the 3 teams the Marlins beat in the
post season they feature the Games most prolific stars of the last 15
years (Derek Jeter, Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa). All 3 series had the
opposing teams heavily favored over Florida but we all know how that
ended.
The
success of the team was short lived though as owner Jeffery Loria had
most of the team gone before the start of the 2006 season. The Legacy
of this team still remains though.
2003
World Series Champions
Stolen
base leader (Juan Pierre-65)
3
Gold gloves (Luis Castillo, Derek Lee, Mike Lowell)
3
All-Stars (Dontrelle Willis, Mike Lowell, Luis Castillo)
Not too long ago former Florida Marlins all-star pitcher and Fan favorite Dontrelle Willis retired from the game of baseball. Willis is known for his high leg kick delivery he learned growing up in Alameda, California. Willis is most remembered for his midseason run he had as a 21 year old young pup going 14-6 his rookie season and winning the rookie of the year en route to helping the Marlins 2nd world series title. 2005 saw the D-train go an impressive 22-10 and earn cy young runner up. After that season he was never the same pitcher again he failed to throw strikes with any consistency. After a few average seasons in Florida Willis was dealt to the Detroit Tigers along with fellow team mate Miguel Cabrera. From 2008-2011 Willis only recorded 4 wins and after bouncing around with the Tigers, D-backs, Reds, Phillies, Orioles Dontrelle decided to hang it up and retire via Twitter saying “im deeply thankful for everything the game has done for me and I will always remember the great people I met along the way #mlb”. Now a lot of people what will D-trains legacy be in the game of baseball? Some will look at it from the negative approach so from a positive one. I am gonna look at D-trains legacy as a positive one a 2 time all-star,20 game winner and a guy who was a huge part of the Marlins 2nd world championship. Above all that though I think people should look at Dontrelle willis and say that he played with a passion of a man but joy of a kid all at the same time. He played the game hard everyday gave you all he could ran the bases hard and had an infectious energy that rubbed off on teamates. I grew up going to Pro player stadium watching the man pitch so maybe im biased but when I would sit there in my cheap seats and watch him pitch he was always worth the price of admission. I have followed the Marlins since I was 4 years old and I have never seen a connection from player to fans like I saw With Dontrelle Willis and Marlins fns,so while many people will lable him a bust I will remember him for what he is a champion, hard worker, and great person and will continue to rock the black #35 jersey at marlins park. CONGRATS D-train on a good career thanks for the memories!!!!!!!
