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Gaze upon the wonderfully-weird windup of Dontrelle Willis

By Matt Monagan

It was just 13 years ago that Dontrelle Willis burst upon the baseball scene as 21-year-old rookie -- winning eight of his first 10 decisions, while compiling a 2.26 ERA and recording 62 strikeouts in 63 2/3 innings. He took home National League Rookie of the Year honors that season and went on to finish second in in the NL Cy Young vote two years later -- leading the Majors in wins (22), complete games (7) and shutouts (5). Unfortunately, Willis didn't enjoy much success during his six big league seasons after that and officially retired in 2015 at the age of 33.
But on his 34th birthday, which is today, we'll always be able to celebrate and remember Willis' pitching (and hitting) successes and, most notably, his awkward, joint-splintering, this-should-not-be-possible windup. 

Happy Birthday, Dontrelle. Please come back soon.

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