Dontrelle Willis
Everyone said that Tiger fans would fall in love with Dontrelle Willis and I can see why.
He was not in Detroit Thursday to sign that big contract. He was in town to do charity work with the Children’s Home Society. Willis gets traded to a new team and immediately gets involved in the community. You have to love that.
He showed an engaging personality at Thursday’s press conference. At one point he was asked about the Tigers signing Miguel Cabrera to a long-term deal and he said, “That’ll be for a lot more money than what I got.”
There is a bit of a risk here for the Tigers. Willis is coming off his worst season and wasn’t all that great the year before. Also, pitchers who move from the National League to the American League generally struggle at first.
But it is worth the risk. The Tigers now have Justin Verlander, Jeremy Bonderman and Willis signed through 2010.