Marlins' Willis becomes cult hit at the festivities

By KEVIN BAXTER

kbaxter@herald.com

 

CHICAGO - Dontrelle Willis stood against a wall in the lobby of the Westin Hotel here Monday morning and watched, wide-eyed, as some of the best ballplayers in the world walked by.

 

Even though he, too, was a major-league All-Star -- heck, he had even gotten some of these guys out -- he still didn't feel like he belonged. So he stood quietly off to the side and watched.

 

''I feel like a kid in a candy store with a $100 bill,'' said Willis, this year's youngest All-Star at 21. ``When I was in high school, I remember seeing these guys on TV. Now I'm in the same lobby with them.''

 

Still, it's hard to say who has been touched more by Willis' amazing ride through his first 10 weeks in the major leagues: the Marlins pitcher or those around him.

 

A reporter from Baltimore rushed to shake his hand and tell him he had spent hundreds of dollars on a satellite TV system just so he could watch Willis pitch. Another reporter stood rapt before Willis for more than a half-hour, repeatedly telling the rookie he was the feel-good story of the season.

 

And the kids at Niketown, well, they just wanted to shake his hand and wish him well.

 

''This is something that I could never even dream,'' he said.

 

There might not be a dream ending tonight, however. National League manager Dusty Baker, who left Willis off his original All-Star team and added him only after Dodgers pitcher Kevin Brown pulled out with injury, said Willis isn't likely to play tonight after throwing 102 pitches Sunday.

 

''You're treading on dangerous territory there,'' Baker said. ``I've got to talk to the kid and see how he rebounds. A lot of people want to see him, but if he goes out and hurts himself they won't see him for a long time.''

 

All of which is fine with Willis, whose ''Aw shucks, I'm just glad to be here'' shtick would be tiring if it weren't so sincere.

 

''I'm just going to get my sunflower seeds and sit back and enjoy [the game],'' he said.

 

Willis drew such a huge crowd during Monday's All-Star media session, Major League Baseball assigned a staffer to stand by and handle crowd control.

 

Yet while the sheer number of reporters might have been something Willis had not encountered before, the questions were ones he had heard countless times:

 

? ``Are you surprised you're here?''

 

? ``Are you mad at Dusty?''

 

? ``What's the secret to your success?''

 

And the answers were the same, too: ``Yes, no and I've been blessed.''

 

Which prompted Marlins teammate Mike Lowell, sitting at an adjoining table, to ask a passing reporter: ``How many times has he said he's been blessed?''

 

Yet none of it seems to get old for Willis who, dressed in blue jeans and a polo shirt, greeted every tired question as if he never heard it before and made every answer seem profound.

 

When someone said the All-Star Game needs fresh blood like his, Willis laughed and said, ``It's more like fresh meat against some of these hitters.''

 

When another reporter asked if he brought a video camera with him, he said, ``No, you have one for me?''

 

''I'll tell you what,'' he said in an unguarded moment. ``We never had [TV] cameras shining you in the face. It goes with the territory. I really don't get into the hype. There might be one day that you wake up and your arm doesn't feel good. A lot of things can happen in the blink of an eye.''

 

Such as an anonymous 21-year-old pitcher going from Double A obscurity to the National League All-Star team in just more than two months.

 

''We weren't ready for all this,'' said Willis' mother, Joyce Harris. ``We were just happy he made the major leagues.''

 

And judging by the reaction Willis received Monday, she is not the only person who is happy.

My grandfather and I could not believe the airtime D-Train got yesterday at the derby! It was crazy! The camera loves him! They had him on just when he was video taping, sitting and talking to Rondell White (if only he was in a Marlins uni too...)

I thought he did well on commentary during the derby last night, too.

I thought he did well on commentary during the derby last night, too.

yeah, but all those questions he was getting (with the exception of AROD comments about his family wanting tickets to see Dontrelle pitch) he had heard before I think. He was ready. And its great that he is always humble, it makes him an even better person then he is a player.

yeah, he seems like a classy guy. and he signed my scorecard of the game he threw a one hitter :-D

Dontrelle must be Happy. Its exciting being by the best players in the game today. He was in on Air for a pretty long time. They loved him there! I hope he pitches in the All star game though...