Through the first month of this baseball season, the Florida Marlins Dontrelle Willis was the hottest thing pitching since those twins in the Coors Light Ads. His 3-0 start and microscopic 0.71 ERA were hella impressive. Plus, the pitcher boasted a .545 batting average (including an unheard of 6-for-6 stretch in April). Willis also started with some crazy numbers last year—at one point he became the first rookie since ’95 to win seven straight starts—but when August and September came around, his tank appeared to run out. Some say the hype, high leg kicks, and Miami humidity got the bets of the rookie. But if the defending champs are to repeat, they’re going to need reigning National League Rookie of the Year man to star all season. “I’m just trying to stay healthy,” says Willis, who was USA Today Sports Weekly’s 2002 minor league pitcher of the year. “If I stay healthy, everything will just fall into place.”
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