Marlins pitcher Dontrelle Willis grew up idolizing Dave Stewart, a 20-game winner for four straight years with the Oakland A’s and the Most Valuable Player of the 1989 World Series.
So when Stewart left a message two weeks ago asking Willis to give him a call, well, it was almost too much for Willis to handle.
“I don’t think he can ever realize how much he meant to me and my family, but you don’t just call your hero. You don’t just call Michael Jordan,” said Willis (5-1), who entered the weekend leading the National League in victories.
Told about Willis’ reluctance, Stewart said quietly: “I wish he’d get over that.”
But Stewart, 50, understands. Like Willis, he is an African-American who grew up in Oakland. One of his childhood idols was Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax, whom Stewart said he was fortunate enough to talk to while coming up through the Dodgers organization.
“Sandy Koufax is the one who taught me how to throw strikes,” he said.
Stewart, who is now an agent, doesn’t plan to teach Willis any new pitches. He just wants to make himself available if Willis ever wants to talk baseball.
” … and if he calls back, he calls back and if he doesn’t, he doesn’t,” Stewart said.
“The last time I called him was two weeks ago. I’d read an article on mlb.com in which he said he wouldn’t even be playing baseball if it wasn’t for me. I didn’t know that. In the article he said he and his family used to schedule what time they would go eat dinner around me pitching. I was like, wow. So I just left him a message saying, ‘I appreciate you giving me that kind of respect. Holler at me when you can. … “
If Willis does decide to holler back at his boyhood hero, he’ll hear Stewart set some lofty goals for him.
“I think he’ll win 12 games by the All-Star break,” he said. “Right now he’s pitching OK, but I think even he would admit he’s got much, much more to bring to the table. I think he’s only going to get better.”
Willis is on that track. The last time he won five games in April was in 2005, when he finished the season 22-10.
Willis always has performed well in April; he’s 14-2 for his career in that month. But May has been more challenging at 8-11.
Then there’s that not-so-pretty 5.35 ERA this season.
“Yeah, he’s given up some runs, but that’s OK,” Marlins pitching coach Rick Kranitz said. “You pitch according to the scoreboard in this league.
“If we got him two runs, I’d be very confident that he was only going to give up one or none. He’s a put-the-ball-in-play guy. A guy who does that needs guys to make plays for him. … He’s not a ball hog. He’d be a perfect point guard — he shares the ball.”
Kranitz is most encouraged that Willis is throwing more strikes than he was at this point last year, when he started 1-6 before finishing at 12-12. Willis has struck out 31 in 37 innings this year with just 10 walks.
Stewart — who posts a blog, Throwin’ Heat, on NBX.com — planned to use the Internet to track Willis’ start Thursday. And Willis might even work up the nerve one day this year to return one of Stewart’s calls.
“I’m weird about that,” Willis said. “He knows how I feel about him and he knows I’ll continue to work hard because of what he went through and the doors he opened for me.”
