Report: Former All-Star pitcher Dontrelle Willis announces retirement [UPDATE]
Former All-Star pitcher Dontrelle Willis, who burst onto the scene as a rookie with the Florida Marlins in 2003 and gained attention for his unusual delivery, will retire from baseball, reports MASNsports.com's Roch Kubatko on Twitter.
[tweet https://twitter.com/masnRoch/status/219895037083918336]
Kubatko had reported earlier Monday that Willis would miss his next start because he was considering retirement.
Willis, 30, struggled with the Baltimore Orioles' Triple-A affiliate this season. He has an 8.53 ERA in four appearances in the minors.
Willis won Rookie of the Year honors after going 14-10 in 2003. His career hit its peak two seasons later, in 2005, when he went 22-10 with a 2.63 ERA and finished second in Cy Young voting.
But then Willis' pitching took a downward turn. His ERA increased to 5.17 in 2007, his last season with the Marlins, and never dropped below 5.00 for a full season again. He failed to get back on track with the Detroit Tigers in more than two seasons with the team. He last appeared in the big leagues in 2011 with the Cincinnati Reds, going 1-6 for the season.
