• Blog
  • Press
  • About
  • Blog
  • Press
  • About
Cover Those Bases

Roy Oswalt to retire from baseball

2/11/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
The 13 year veteran has decided to call it a career.
Picture
Starting pitcher Roy Oswalt has retired from the Major Leagues at age 36, after 13 seasons. The three-time All Star last pitched for the Colorado Rockies in 2013. 

The Wier, Mississippi native was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 23rd round of the 1996 amateur draft. Oswalt impressed many in the 2000 season, going a combined 15-7 with a 2.21 ERA and a 1.091 WHIP in 175 innings between the Astros' High Single-A and Double-A affiliates. After just five starts in Triple-A the following season, Oswalt broke into the Major Leagues. 

His first season in the Major Leagues was a success. The then 23-year-old Oswalt went 14-3 with a 2.73 ERA and a 1.059 WHIP in 141.2 innings (170 ERA+), finishing second in the Rookie of the Year voting to Cardinals' first baseman Albert Pujols. From 2002 to 2008, Oswalt was excellent, going 115-61 (average season record was 16-9) with a 3.17 ERA and a 1.211 WHIP (137 ERA+), all with the Houston Astros. His three All Star appearances all came from the 2002 season to the 2008 season.

Oswalt was not as great in 2009, but did come back and post a very strong 2010 season, finishing second in the Cy Young award voting for 2010. Also during the 2010 season, Oswalt was traded. For the first time in his career, he would not be with the Astros. On July 29, 2010, Roy Oswalt was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies, where he would be thrown onto a contending team. They lost the NLCS that season. Oswalt, however, enjoyed great success in Philadelphia in 2010, going 7-1 with a 1.74 ERA with the Phillies. 

From 2011 to 2013, Oswalt has never been the same. Between the Phillies, Rangers, and Rockies, Oswalt went 13-19 with a 4.92 ERA (83 ERA+). In his final season with the Rockies, Oswalt's pitching was becoming ugly, as he went 0-6 with a 8.63 ERA and a 1.794 WHIP (52 ERA+) in 32.1 innings with Colorado in 2013. His final appearance came against the Dodgers, recording a hold while pitching a scoreless sixth inning in a 2-1 victory. 

Roy Oswalt was a fantastic pitcher for the Houston Astros, doing a good job of limiting hits (career 8.8 H/9), while racking up the strikeouts (3.56 K/BB ratio). However, as he got older, Oswalt just could not keep batters off of the base paths (11.0 H/9 ratio from 2011 to 2013), which led to his decline. Personally, I enjoyed watching Oswalt pitch during his stay in Philadelphia and wish him the best in his retirement.

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Angels
    Astros
    Athletics
    Blue Jays
    Braves
    Brewers
    Cardinals
    Cubs
    Diamondbacks
    Dodgers
    Giants
    Indians
    Mariners
    Marlins
    Mets
    Nationals
    Orioles
    Padres
    Phillies
    Pirates
    Rangers
    Rays
    Reds
    Red Sox
    Rockies
    Royals
    Tigers
    Twins
    White Sox
    Yankees

    Follow @CoverThoseBases
    Picture
    Follow @DevanFink

    Archives

    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012

Proudly powered by Weebly
Photos used under Creative Commons from Keith Allison, Keith Allison