GUTHRIE, Okla. -- At the age of 24, Dontrelle Willis isn't even thinking about whether he'll be able to chase down Warren Spahn's 363 wins -- the most by a lefty in the major leagues.

 

"I can't even fathom that number -- just being able to play baseball and understand how hard it is to win one game," Willis told The Associated Press on Thursday after accepting the Warren Spahn Award. "To win 300-plus games is remarkable. To win 200-plus games is remarkable. That's a big number."

 

In a point system based on wins, ERA and strikeouts, Willis edged out Houston's Andy Pettitte for the award given annually to baseball's top left-hander. Past winners include Randy Johnson (1999-2002), Pettitte (2003) and Johan Santana (2004).

 

Willis, who was 22-10 for the Florida Marlins last season, led all lefties in wins. His 2.63 ERA was second to Santana and his 170 strikeouts ranked fifth.

 

In his three-year career, Willis is 46-27 with a 3.27 ERA. He has just over one-eighth of the wins Spahn, a native Oklahoman, had in his 21 seasons.

 

"I don't even know what I'm right now at as far as wins. I can't even tell you. I've still got 300 to go," Willis said. "You have to be very fortunate and very lucky and very blessed to stay healthy to be able to have a chance to go out there and do those type of things. I need all the help and luck to be on my side."

 

On Monday, Willis avoided salary arbitration by agreeing to a $4.35 million, one-year contract with the Marlins. He made only $378,500 last year but says the raise won't affect him.

 

"I don't feel any pressure. I'm going to continue to do what I do as far as my work ethic and my training for me to get prepared for the season," Willis said. "That doesn't dictate anything."

 

Willis is one of few Marlins who will return this season as the team dramatically cut payroll in the offseason. Gone are Josh Beckett, A.J. Burnett, Luis Castillo, Jeff Conine, Carlos Delgado, Paul Lo Duca, Mike Lowell and Guillermo Mota.

 

"I'm going to go in there being the same guy. I'm not going to let things around me dictate how I'm going to approach the game," Willis said.

 

"That's what the guys that got traded and left said: 'Continue to do what you know how to do, and don't let us down. Don't change just because the circumstances have changed. Keep doing what you're good at, keep working hard, keep smiling and keep having fun,'" he said.

 

Young slugger Miguel Cabrera, who hit 33 homers last season, will also be back. The others have been replaced with names like Wes Helms, Miguel Olivo, Brian Moehler, Pokey Reese, Joe Borowski and -- as Willis put it -- "a lot of younger guys."

 

Willis was one of those younger players when he came up in 2003 and was the rookie of the year as the Marlins won the World Series. So, can any of the Marlins' newcomers follow in his footsteps?

 

"It doesn't matter what I think. It just matters if they feel that way," Willis said. "If they feel that they deserve to play baseball at the highest level and they want to go out there and get it, it doesn't matter what I think.

 

"I know when I came up, me and Miguel, we felt like if we can do what we need to do and learn, we can play baseball at any level, and that builds confidence. Hopefully, they come in feeling the same way," he said.

 

Willis certainly isn't giving up on his young club. After all, the Marlins had a similar fire sale after their 1997 World Series win and were back winning the title six years later.

 

"I'm very optimistic, most definitely. I'm very optimistic. I'm very appreciative of this organization taking a chance on a young 21-year-old and I'll always hold onto that," Willis said.

 

"I always feel that we've got a chance to win a game until the game's over. I'm definitely going to feel confident. And when the season starts, we're all going to be in first place," he said.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2298996

46 wins in three seasons.

 

92 wins in six seasons.

 

138 wins in nine seasons.

 

184 wins in twelve seasons.

 

230 wins in fifteen seasons.

 

 

But we all know he'll average more than 46 wins every three seasons!

 

 

It's late so maybe I added wrong.

Well put it this way.. Warren Spahn won 363 games in 21 seasons. Dontrelle has played 3. So you multiply 3 by 7 and get 21, right? So just multiply 46 by 7 and you get 322 wins... This is assuming, of course, he continues on the same exact pace and plays 21 years. He could go either way, but 363 is an amazing number.

Not to take anything away from Warren Spahn; he's one of the greatest of all time, but back when he was pitching, 5-man rotations were basically unheard of. So I'm guessing he pitched once every 3 days or so and got significantly more starts than an SP nowadays would.

 

Anyhow, great article. Dontrelle truly is the new face of this organization. Mr. Marlin 2.0

Not to take anything away from Warren Spahn; he's one of the greatest of all time, but back when he was pitching, 5-man rotations were basically unheard of. So I'm guessing he pitched once every 3 days or so and got significantly more starts than an SP nowadays would.

 

Anyhow, great article. Dontrelle truly is the new face of this organization. Mr. Marlin 2.0

 

Wins by a pitcher are overrated. Look at Spahn's ERA.

 

His career ERA was 3.09, which is pretty damn good. He had 15 seasons where he started 33 or more games, including 10 where he started 35 or more games. He had 5 seasons where he appeared in 40 games (starts and relief appearances combined). There was one season where he had 38 decisions! Yeah, he appeared in a sh*t load of games. However, he was still a damn good pitcher. If you gave Willis the same number of starts and total appearances per year as Spahn and the same longevity, D-Train would actually end up with about 375 wins.

 

If Dontrelle pitches 20 seasons, there is a good chance he'll get to 300 wins.

We have set ourselves up to win the World Series 5 years from now.

We have set ourselves up to win the World Series 5 years from now.

 

This team will contend in '08, possibly even '07.

Well put it this way.. Warren Spahn won 363 games in 21 seasons. Dontrelle has played 3. So you multiply 3 by 7 and get 21, right? So just multiply 46 by 7 and you get 322 wins... This is assuming, of course, he continues on the same exact pace and plays 21 years. He could go either way, but 363 is an amazing number.

 

 

Spahn averaged over 17 wins a season for 21 years! D-Train is 6 wins behind the pace. He needs a few 20 game seasons just to catch up!

 

Wow, just to think of what it took to collect 363 wins. It seems quite unlikely D-Train will ever challenge Spahn's record.

Not to take anything away from Warren Spahn; he's one of the greatest of all time, but back when he was pitching, 5-man rotations were basically unheard of. So I'm guessing he pitched once every 3 days or so and got significantly more starts than an SP nowadays would.

 

Anyhow, great article. Dontrelle truly is the new face of this organization. Mr. Marlin 2.0

 

What kind of arguement is that? Did you hear what train said? It's hard just to get 1 win. Imagine having to pitch that many games, Dontrelle gets rest under a 5 man rotation, Spahn had to pitch probably like every other day, you have to give the guy credit to hve the energy to come back in the next game 2 days later and pick up another W not to mention his career ERA to be as low as it was. He got more starts but had to wear him self out more :lol

Not to take anything away from Warren Spahn; he's one of the greatest of all time, but back when he was pitching, 5-man rotations were basically unheard of. So I'm guessing he pitched once every 3 days or so and got significantly more starts than an SP nowadays would.

 

Anyhow, great article. Dontrelle truly is the new face of this organization. Mr. Marlin 2.0

 

What kind of arguement is that? Did you hear what train said? It's hard just to get 1 win. Imagine having to pitch that many games, Dontrelle gets rest under a 5 man rotation, Spahn had to pitch probably like every other day, you have to give the guy credit to hve the energy to come back in the next game 2 days later and pick up another W not to mention his career ERA to be as low as it was. He got more starts but had to wear him self out more :lol

 

 

fatigue aside, Starting more games will naturally equate to more wins

 

Although that is an issue

 

point taken

We have set ourselves up to win the World Series 5 years from now.

 

This team will contend in '08, possibly even '07.

:lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol

We have set ourselves up to win the World Series 5 years from now.

 

This team will contend in '08, possibly even '07.

:lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol

I guess I could take a poll and prove you wrong, but that's just a waste of my time.

My only question is will be be here still in 2 years?

My only question is will be be here still in 2 years?

 

Well ya, they'll be here until at least 2008.

Dontrelle will always be optimistic because that's just the kind of guy he is.