Roy Oswalt

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Roy Oswalt (born August 29, 1977) is an American former professional baseball pitcher, who played for the majority of his Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Houston Astros.

He also played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, and Colorado Rockies.Oswalt was selected by the Astros in the 1996 MLB draft.

He made his big league debut with Houston, in 2001, finishing his rookie season with a win–loss record of 14–3.

Oswalt was a back-to-back 20-game winner in 2004 and 2005.

He helped lead the Astros to their first World Series appearance in 2005, and was named Most Valuable Player of the 2005 National League Championship Series (NLCS).

When Oswalt left the Astros in 2010, both his wins (143) and strikeouts totals (1,593) ranked second in franchise history to Joe Niekro (144) and Nolan Ryan (1,866), respectively.

Oswalt was a three-time All-Star, selected from 2005 to 2007.As a member of Team USA, Oswalt won a gold medal in the 2000 Summer Olympics.

Early life

Oswalt was born and raised in Weir, Mississippi, the son of Billy Joe and Jean Oswalt. Billy was a Vietnam War veteran and logger. Roy grew up with his older brother, Brian, and their older sister, Patricia. Jean was an avid baseball fan and taught her kids about the game. Oswalt grew up rooting for the Atlanta Braves.

Oswalt joined the Weir High School football team as a quarterback and the baseball team as a pitcher. He could throw in the mid 80s with good control, but his relatively slight stature (5'10", 150 lbs.) scared away scouts. Oswalt reflected, "I always heard that I was too small." Weir itself was very small in size, making it difficult for scouts to hear about Oswalt. Nonetheless, he was recruited to join the baseball team at Holmes Community College.

At Weir High School, Oswalt played defensive back and wide receiver on the football team, which won a state title his senior year. He graduated in a class with 32 students. Oswalt attended Holmes Community College in Goodman, Mississippi for two years.

Personal life

Oswalt is married and has three daughters. They reside in Starkville, Mississippi. In 2021, he opened a steakhouse in Starkville named "44 Prime."

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Professional career

Just one MLB scout, James Farrar of the Houston Astros, discovered Oswalt. The Astros allowed him to pass into the 23rd round of the 1996 MLB draft, after being convinced that Oswalt's anonymity kept him anonymous from other teams. By this point, Oswalt had piqued the interest of the Mississippi State Bulldogs, for whom he had long wanted to play. Oswalt was enthralled by the Astros with a $500,000 signing bonus, and he signed with the team on May 18, 1997. As of 2019, Oswalt will be the first-drafted player to lead his draft class in career Baseball-Reference Wins Above Replacement.

Oswalt made his first appearance in the Gulf Coast League in 1997, when he gave up only two runs in five starts. He was then called up to the Auburn Doubledays of the New York–Penn League, where he went 2–4 the rest of the way.

Oswalt played for the same two clubs in 1998. He struck out 27 batters and walked just one in 16 innings of work with the Gulf Coast Astros. Oswalt was promoted to Auburn, where he had the league's fourth lowest ERA (2.18).

When Oswalt was with the Michigan Battle Cats in the Midwest League in 1999, he sustained a horrific shoulder injury. Oswalt was convinced that his shoulder had been torned after a month of pain in his upper arm. He was testing the spark plug wires on his pickup truck shortly after. He touched one of the spark plug wires, starting the engine. The truck's electric current flowed through Oswalt's body, causing tighter muscles in his hand. For those who were unable to take it, Oswalt stayed on the wire for almost a minute. Oswalt screamed after his foot came off the vehicle's bumper and he was "thrown off." "My car brought the fire out of me, and my arm doesn't hurt no more." The electric charge allegedly loosened the scar tissue in the shoulder. Since the shooting, Oswalt says he hasn't felt any pain in his shoulder. He finished 1999 with 143 strikeouts and a club-high 13 victories.

Oswalt made his debut with the Class A Kissimmee Cobras of the Florida State League in 2000, going 4-3 with a 2.98 ERA before being promoted due to a player injury on the Texas League's Class AA Round Rock Express. Oswalt had only been scheduled to pitch a few games and had been given a round-trip ticket. However, manager Jackie Moore had to rework his ticket after striking out 15 batters in his first appearance with the Express. Nolan Ryan, the owner of the Express and Oswalt's idol, adored his calm demeanor and his aggressiveness so much that he succeeded in keeping Oswalt on the roster, where he would go 11–4 with a 1.94 ERA and 18 strikeouts (18 starts). It was here that pitching coach Mike Maddux advised the young Oswalt to be more consistent in his pitch pick by tossing more breaking balls and triggering ground outs early in the game.

Oswalt was selected to play on the national Olympic baseball team at the 2000 Summer Olympics as a result of his success at Round Rock. Oswalt was pitching in the semi-finals against South Korea, a game in which the United States defeated South Korea with a walk-off home run by Doug Mientkiewicz en route to their gold medal position. In his two starts, Oswalt struck out ten runs and gave two runs (1.38 ERA).

Oswalt began playing for the Triple-A New Orleans Zephyrs in 2001, where he went 2–3 before being called up to the MLB when left-hander Wayne Franklin was demoted down.

Oswalt's rookie season ended with a 14–3 record and a 2.73 ERA, with a 12–2 record and a 2.82 ERA in his 20 starts. In the year's polling for National League Rookie of the Year, he came in second, losing unanimously to Albert Pujols. He also finished fifth in Cy Young Award voting, which was also won by Randy Johnson. He received the Sporting News NL Rookie Pitcher of the Year Award. He pitched 24 consecutive innings before giving up a home run to Andrés Galarraga of the San Francisco Giants.

Oswalt's 2002 season was another step forward for the Oswalt family, who finished the season with a 19–9 record, knocking out a career-high 208 batters and finishing with a 3.01. He tied for fourth in Cy Young voting, losing to Johnson once more. He started winning a runner's record 9 straight starts from July 27 to September 8 before losing by a no-decision in an extra innings' Astros loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.

Injuries dogged Oswalt in 2003, but he set a new high over 21 starts in 2003. On June 11, he pitched a no-hitter against the New York Yankees. After one inning, Oswalt was out, and the Astros' five-hit the Yankees continued to no-hit the Yankees.

He returned to form in 2004 with his first 20-win season of his career, becoming the only National League (NL) pitcher to do so this year. Despite a career-high 3.49 ERA, he went 20-10 and shut down 206 batters. He came in third place in Cy Young Award voting, behind teammates Roger Clemens and Randy Johnson once more. He made his first postseason appearance, going 1–0 with a 4.19 ERA in three starts and one relief appearance. During the season, he had two complete shutouts, both against the Milwaukee Brewers. At 94.0 mph (151.3 km/h), he led all NL starters with the fastest average fastball speed. He received the Darryl Kile Award.

Oswalt threw a career-high 2412/3 innings in 2005, beating out 184 batters and only walking 48 on his way to his second consecutive 20-win season, the first Astro to do so since Joe Niekro in 1979-80. He set a 20–12 record from April 10 to July 26, his best 10-game winning streak, with a 2.94 ERA, and was selected to his first Major League All-Star Game winner. He was fourth in Cy Young Award balloting, which was won by Chris Carpenter. Oswalt played 4 games and lost 3–0 in the 2012 season. His two seven-inning one-run performances earned him the NLCS MVP award, as well as a three-hit seven strikeout game in Game 6.

In 2006, Oswalt was 15-08 on his second straight All-Star team and his final ERA led NL (2.94), while walking 38. In the second inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Oswalt scored his first and only home run of his career, winning a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, with a two-run homer off Shawn Chacon on August 9 of this year. On August 29, 2006, Oswalt's 29th birthday, he signed a five-year contract with the Astros totaling $73 million with a lockout option for a sixth year. He finished fourth in Cy Young Award voting, which was won by Brandon Webb. Oswalt had his 1,000th strike out against the Cincinnati Reds on September 18, his eighth appearance in the Astros, making him the ninth player to reach the milestone.

Roy Oswalt was ranked second highest Pitcher Player Value Ranking from Sports Illustrated Baseball Preview Edition prior to the 2007 season. He was rated as the best in the NL ahead of Brandon Webb and Chris Carpenter, but only below 2006 Triple Crown champion Johan Santana. It was announced on July 5, 2007, that Oswalt would replace an injured John Smoltz on the National League All-Star team, making it Oswalt's third appearance in a video game. He did not pitch in the All-Star Game, however. Sports Illustrated named Oswalt as one of the top five pitchers (along with Santana, Roy Halladay, Jake Peavy, and Justin Verlander) on August 13, 2007. It was revealed on September 26, 2007, that Oswalt was suffering from pain in his left side and that it was decided to suspend him for the remainder of the season so as not to risk a more serious injury. He was batting 212 innings in his fourth year as a player with 200 or more innings pitched, a 14-27 record, and a ERA of 3.18 and 154 strikeouts.

Despite the fact that he started the 2008 season slowly (0–3, 9.00 ERA), Oswalt's solid second half helped him to his highest win total since 2005. Despite being on the disabled list for the first time since 2006, Oswalt was able to do this. He also hit a record of 3213 scoreless innings for the Astros. He ended the 2008 season with 20823 innings, his fifth year in a row, with a batting record of 3.54 and 165 strikeouts.

Oswalt is one of ten major league pitchers to win at least 11 games in a year from 2004 to 2008.

Oswalt appeared in two games for the United States in the World Baseball Classic in 2009. In the game against the Netherlands, he was the winning pitcher, but after giving up 6 runs, he was forced to withdraw from the semifinal against Japan.

On July 29, Oswalt was sent by the Philadelphia Phillies for J. A. Happ, two minor league players, center fielder Anthony Gose, and shortstop Jonathan Villar are among the players who play in both Class-A and Class-A.

Oswalt became the first Phillies pitcher to play in a non-pitching role in 39 years on August 24. Ryan Howard, the Philadelphia Astros' first baseman, was suspended after arguing for a checked swing to bring the 14th inning to a close. The Philadelphia Phillies upgraded left fielder Ral Ibaez to first base and sent Oswalt to play left field out of offensive reserve, bringing Oswalt to first base. Oswalt had one putout in the outfield but later found himself in the final of the Phillies' loss by grounding out in the bottom of the 16th inning. Bill Wilson, the last Phillies pitcher to play was in a single inning on August 6, 1971, was the first Phillies pitcher to play a single position.

In a 3–0 win over the New York Mets on September 12, Oswalt pitched his first complete game as a Phillie, allowing four hits and striking out six.

Oswalt pitched Game 2 of the Cincinnati Reds' three-game sweep; he gave up four runs in five innings, but the Phillies won 7–4. Oswalt won Game 2 against the San Francisco Giants in 2010, allowing just one run in eight innings, his ninth postseason appearance without losing. In Game 4 of the ninth inning, Oswalt was trying to keep a tie game alive. However, Oswalt allowed two hits in the inning, but Juan Uribe gave the winning run from third base on a sacrifice fly. Oswalt allowed two runs in six innings in Game 6, but the Giants tied the game and the series later on.

The Phillies' top four pitchers (Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Oswalt, and Cole Hamels) were widely praised as one of the best starting rotations in history going into the 2011 season.

After a good start to the 2011 season, Oswalt took a leave of absence from the Phillies on April 27, 2011, citing "personal reasons" as the reason for his family and home. Due to a back injury, he spent several weeks on the disabled list. His season was expected to be disappointing, perhaps due to his back problems.

Oswalt started Game 4 with the Philadelphia Cardinals leading the St. Louis Cardinals, but he needed just one more victory to advance. Despite being spotted with two runs by the offense in the first, Oswalt lost five runs in six innings. The Philadelphia Phillies also lost Game 5 and were barred from the playoffs.

The team turned down his option after the 2011 season, effectively making him a free agent.

Oswalt was considered one of the best starters on the free agent market and was courted by several organizations. Oswalt, who was only 34 years old and up to that point an elite pitcher, was holding out for a large paycheck from a team surprisingly close to his hometown of Weir, Mississippi, according to ESPN's Jayson Stark. However, many of the Oswalt's squads were not interested, and Stark said that Oswalt's 2011 success discouraged other teams from offering the funds he wanted.

Oswalt had signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers on May 29, according to the website.

Roy started four games in the Rangers' minor league system, three games for the Triple-A Round Rock Express and one for the Double-A Frisco RoughRiders, allowing him to return to form. He went 1–1 with a 5.87 ERA in four starts.

On Friday, June 20, the Rangers announced that Oswalt would make his first appearance with the Rangers, a home game against the Colorado Rockies. Oswalt pitched 623 runs on his first appearance with the Rangers. He had six strikeouts while giving up 9 hits and one earned run. As he left, he received a standing ovation from the crowd.

Following Ryan Dempster's purchase, the Rangers moved Oswalt to the bullpen on July 31.

Matt Harrison needed extra day of rest on August 23, after starting against the Tampa Bay Rays on August 23. However, he was dismissed after two innings due to soreness in his elbow. He was diagnosed with a right forearm strain on September 11 and did not throw for many days. In a game against the Oakland Athletics on September 24, the player made his first appearance since the injury. He pitched two scoreless innings of relief. He pitched 1.1 innings the next day.

On May 2, 2013, Oswalt and the Colorado Rockies reached a minor league contract. On June 20, he made his Rockies debut against the Washington Nationals, pitching 5 innings and giving up 4 earned runs on 9 hits for 11.

After the 2013 season, Oswalt resigned to work for his former agent. On April 5, 2014, Oswalt and his former colleague Lance Berkman officially ended as an Astro on a one-day deal with Houston, marking his departure as an Astro.

In 2019, Oswalt became the first eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame. He received 4 votes, or 0.9 percent, which is less than 5%, and has therefore been ineligible for further consideration. On August 3, 2019, Oswalt was inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame.

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