Roy Oswalt
Three-time All-Star and 2005 NLCS MVP.
Roy Edward Oswalt is an American former professional baseball pitcher who spent most of his Major League Baseball career with the Houston Astros. He was a three-time All-Star and helped lead the Astros to their first World Series appearance in 2005, earning Most Valuable Player honors in the National League Championship Series that year.
Quick Facts
- Position
- Pitcher
- Bats
- Right
- Born
- 29 August 1977
- Birthplace
- Weir, Mississippi, U.S.
- Debut league
- MLB
- Debut date
- May 6
- Debut year
- 2001
- Debut team
- Houston Astros
Facts from the source article.
Early life
Oswalt was born and raised in Weir, Mississippi, the son of Billy Joe and Jean Oswalt. His father was a Vietnam War veteran and logger, and his mother, an avid baseball fan, taught her children about the game. He grew up rooting for the Atlanta Braves. At Weir High School, Oswalt played quarterback on the football team and pitcher on the baseball team. Despite throwing in the mid 80s with good control, his slight stature (5'10", 150 lbs.) deterred scouts. He was recruited to play baseball at Holmes Community College, where he attended for two years.
Professional career
Oswalt was selected by the Houston Astros in the 23rd round of the 1996 MLB draft after being spotted by only one scout, James Farrar. The Astros enticed him with a $500,000 signing bonus, and he signed on May 18, 1997. He played rookie ball in the Gulf Coast League in 1997, giving up only two runs in five starts, then moved to the Auburn Doubledays. In 1998, he split time between the same two teams, striking out 27 batters and walking just one in 16 innings with the Gulf Coast Astros. During the 1999 season with the Class A Michigan Battle Cats, Oswalt suffered shoulder pain later diagnosed as tendinitis. After the season, he accidentally touched a spark plug wire on his pickup truck, causing the engine to start and sending an electric current through his body. He claimed the shock relieved his shoulder pain. He finished 1999 with 143 strikeouts and a club-high 13 wins.
Pitching style
Oswalt threw five pitches: a four-seam fastball (91–94 mph), two-seam fastball (90–93 mph), curveball (68–72 mph), changeup (81–84 mph), and slider (83–85 mph). His changeup, originally a rarely used circle change, became a standard part of his repertoire after he changed the grip in 2010. He threw it only 4% of the time in 2008 but 19% by 2011, which he said helped compensate for reduced fastball velocity. His curveball was a common two-strike offering, and he often used the changeup when behind in the count. Oswalt worked his fastball high in the strike zone and had good control throughout his career, appearing in the top 10 in the National League in BB/9 rate seven times. He finished with a .982 fielding percentage, committing nine errors in 487 total chances.
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