Dontrelle Willis

Willis was raised by his mother, Joyce, a welder, in Alameda, California. She played in elite-level softball leagues when Willis was a child. Willis never knew his father, Clinton Ostah, who was a minor league player in the 1970s. Growing up, Willis rooted for the Oakland Athletics as a child. Willis\' favorite player was former Oakland Athletics\' pitcher Dave Stewart.[citation needed] Willis attended Encinal High School in Alameda, where he played baseball for four years. In Willis\' senior year in 2000, he had a 0.70 earned run average (ERA) with 111 strikeouts in 70 innings pitched and was named California Player of the Year. He initially committed to play college baseball at Arizona State. He was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 8th round of the 2000 Major League Baseball draft.\n', '

In 2001, Willis was promoted to the Boise Hawks of the Northwest League. He finished with 8 wins…