Dontrelle Willis

Poacher

Mentor
Joined
Jul 30, 2005
Messages
943
What happened to Willis this year? ESPN (and everyone else for that matter) was worshipping the guy and now look at him. ERA over 4 and a losing record. Is he hurt?

More likely he was just a one year wonder.
 

Don Wassall

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Sep 30, 2004
Messages
30,323
Location
Pennsylvania
The few black pitchers that have had any success rarely have any endurance. Out of the top 100 most winning pitchers in baseball history, just four are black, five if you count Luis Tiant, an hispanic black. Bob Gibson, who is almost always included in any media discussion of the greatest pitchers ever, is only 44th all-time in wins.


The most consistently goodblack pitcher ever over time was Canadian-born Ferguson Jenkins, who had seven 20-win seasons (including six in a row) and 284 winslifetime.


Willis won 14 games his first season, and just 10 his second before his 22 wins last year. Will he be another Dwight Gooden, who quickly lost it? Or remember Ken Hill? He had a few good seasons in the '90s before fading. Let's see if Willis is still on top of his game 20 yearsinto his careerwhen he's in his 40s like so many great white pitchers have been.
 
Joined
Aug 5, 2005
Messages
388
Location
North Carolina
Willis is a flash-in-the-pan, just like all other black media/sports deities.

In baseball, the Daryl Strawberry comparison is apt; he too burned-out within a few years (and just look at him now!). And remember how Frank Thomas and Albert Belle were going to re-write the offensive recordbooks?
 

whiteCB

Master
Joined
Apr 14, 2005
Messages
2,282
Southern Knight said:
Willis is a flash-in-the-pan, just like all other black media/sports deities.

In baseball, the Daryl Strawberry comparison is apt; he too burned-out within a few years (and just look at him now!). And remember how Frank Thomas and Albert Belle were going to re-write the offensive recordbooks?

How's Ken Griffey doing on that chase for Hank Aaron? lol
 

Don Wassall

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Sep 30, 2004
Messages
30,323
Location
Pennsylvania
Will the mediacontinue tounanimously agree thatthe Great Black Pitching Hopeis "charismatic" and has an "electric personality" afterhe wasbusted for drunk drivingwhen a cop spotted him pissing on the street beside his Bentley?
<H1>Police arrest Willis outside South Beach nightclub</H1>


http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2705991
 

LabMan

Mentor
Joined
Aug 6, 2006
Messages
644
Location
Pennsylvania
Most all media outlets,print and electronic,have been reporting at every opportunity how popular "D-Train"is with Miami area fans and children.
 
Top