Living It Up: Pitching With Dontrelle Willis

Jackie: "So what is it like to win the World Series?"

Dontrelle: "Breathtaking to say the least. It was a very exciting time."

Jackie: "So you are going to teach me to pitch today, or try to."

Dontrelle: "It's hard, I might be a horrible teacher but just bear with me."

Jackie: "But you have your own pitching style. You kick your leg up real high. How come?"

Dontrelle: "It feels comfortable."

Dontrelle: "So the first thing about pitching is when you get on the mound, you have to be relaxed. You have to be like, this is my domain."

Jackie: "I own this mound."

Dontrelle: "So you go like this. So I'm like this, and you kick your leg up."

Jackie: "What's that thing that you guys do...?"

Jackie tries to do a big wind up to demonstrate what she is asking about.

Dontrelle: "When you put your leg right there, you have to have your hand up. Then bring your leg up. Yeah, perfect, and then throw."

Dontrelle: "Oh that's perfect, that's it that's it, we need a uniform."

Jackie: "Do you come up with different pitches all the time, or how does that work?"

Dontrelle: "It'd be tough, but, like, you could learn how to throw a changeup."

Dontrelle: "Can you hold the ball like, see how I'm doing it?"

Jackie: "Like that?"

Dontrelle: "Yeah, throw the ball like that."

Jackie: "Can you teach me one more?"

Dontrelle: "Yeah, yeah, I throw a slider, and I hold the ball like this, and the ball comes off your finger like this, and it has this rotation."

Dontrelle: "That's it right there."

Dontrelle: "Basically, those 3 pitches are pitches that I throw."

Jackie: "What do you think the hardest pitch is?"

Dontrelle: "To throw a strike (laughs)."

Dontrelle: "To throw a strike, to be able to throw a strike at that velocity on a consistent basis for how many innings, that's the hardest thing."

Jackie: "OK, Dontrelle, you gave me the lessons. Let's see who has more speed."

Jackie: "Well, thanks a lot, Dontrelle. It's been great Living It Up with you."