WHY I THINK ROY OSWALT SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

WHY I THINK ROY OSWALT SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN 

By- Damien 

Roy Oswalt was one of the most underrated pitchers of his era. While he didn’t throw 100 miles per hour and only twice struck out 200 batters in a season, Oswalt was consistently getting hitters out and winning ballgames, keeping opposing teams off balance with strong command of five pitches. Oswalt was one of the most steady pitchers in the game for the first decade of his career, a decade marked by heavy offense. 

Roy Edward Oswalt was born on August 29, 1977, in Weir, Mississippi. One of three children, young Roy grew up an Atlanta Braves fan. In high school, he played both baseball and football for Weir High. Oswalt was perhaps a bigger football star as a youngster, helping the football team to a state title in his senior year. On the mound, his 5’10”, 150 pound frame turned away many scouts. “I always heard that I was too small,” lamented Oswalt. He was finally spotted by scout James Farrar of the Houston Astros, who tentatively drafted him in the 23rd round of the 1996 draft. It took him four minor league seasons (and a stint in the 2000 Olympics) to make it to the Big Leagues, but once he made it, he was there to stay. 

Oswalt went 14-3 with a 2.73 ERA as a rookie in 2001, leading the NL in winning percentage and finishing second in the Rookie of the Year Award voting. In 2002, Oswalt went 19-9, establishing himself as one of the premier pitchers in the league. He helped the Astros to back to back postseasons in 2004 and 2005, going 2-0 in the 2005 NLCS to win MVP honors and lead the club to its first pennant in franchise history. He continued his winning ways even when the Astros didn’t, and finished his first decade in the Majors with 150 victories, more than anyone else in baseball. 

In 2010, the Astros fell to fourth place in the NL Central, and when the trade deadline came around, Oswalt was shipped to the contending Phillies. The Phillies already sported two of the best pitchers in the game in Cole Hamels and Hall of Famer Roy Halladay, and when Oswalt joined the club, the terrific trio was nicknamed “H₂O”. Oswalt pitched brilliantly down the stretch, going 7-1 with a 1.74 ERA to help the Phillies win the Division Title. The Phils made it all the way to the NLCS, where they fell to the San Francisco Giants in six games, but the defeat cannot be attributed to Oswalt, who had a 1.84 ERA in three appearances and won Game 2. 

In 2011, former Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee joined the H₂O group, leading many experts to consider the Philadelphia rotation one of the finest in history. Despite numerous back problems, Oswalt still turned in a quality season, posting a 3.69 ERA in 23 starts as the Phillies made the postseason again, this time falling to the Cardinals in the NLDS. 

On October 30, 2011, Oswalt was granted free agency. Due to age and back problems, he didn’t sign until May, working out a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers. He made it to the big club on June 22, pitching 6 ⅔ innings and allowing one earned run. Despite the strong performance, the 2012 season was a poor one for Oswalt, who stumbled to a 5.80 ERA in 17 appearances (nine starts). Things were no better for Oswalt in 2013, who posted an 8.63 ERA in nine games for the Rockies. Oswalt signed a one day contract with Houston to officially retire as an Astro on April 4, 2014. 

Due to a forgettable end to a relatively short career, Oswalt was one and done in his only BBWAA ballot, gaining 0.9% of the vote in 2019. At first glance, he doesn’t look like much of a candidate - 163 wins, a 3.36 ERA, 1,852 strikeouts, and zero Cy Youngs immediately turned off many voters. However, this is not a fair evaluation of Oswalt’s career, and a case can be made that he should be in the Hall of Fame. For the first decade of his career, he was the winningest pitcher in the game. Although he never won a Cy Young Award, he finished among the NL’s top six in six different seasons and, in my humble opinion, should have won in 2006 when he won the ERA title. In total, he had a won-loss record of 163-102, good for a .615 winning percentage. Despite his strong winning percentage, an argument can be made that Oswalt was a hard luck pitcher: in 85 career winless quality starts, Oswalt went 0-36 with a 2.66 ERA. In nearly one-fourth of his career starts, Oswalt pitched just well enough to lose. Although bad luck and back problems leave him well short of 200 wins, that might not be as much of a problem as it used to be. As starting pitchers are going fewer innings and earning fewer wins, they’ll start getting into Cooperstown with fewer victories, too. In this context, Oswalt’s superior winning percentage would be more important than his win total, and it will continue to look better as time goes on. 

In addition to Oswalt’s regular season feats, he was also quite successful in the postseason. Although he never won a World Series, he was an integral part of the Astros’ playoff runs in the mid-2000’s and the Phillies’ run in 2010. The MVP of the 2005 NLCS, Oswalt led the Astros to their first pennant in franchise history. Overall, Oswalt had a postseason record of 5-2 with a 3.73 ERA, proving that he was clutch when the stakes were highest. 

Roy Oswalt was a tough competitor. No matter the day or the opponent, you could always count on him to throw a good game. He would be a good addition to the Hall of Fame. 

LIFETIME STATISTICS 

Games Pitched career: 365 season high: 36 in 2004 

Starts career: 341 season high: 35 in 2004 and 2005 led NL: 35 in 2004 and 2005 

Wins career: 163 season high: 20 in 2004 and 2005 led NL: 20 in 2004 

Losses career: 102 season high: 13 in 2010 

Winning Percentage career: .615 season high: .824 in 2001 led NL: .824 in 2001 

Complete Games career: 20 season high: 4 in 2005 

Shutouts career: 8 season high: 2 in 2004, 2008, and 2010 

Earned Run Average career: 3.36 season low: 2.76 in 2010 led NL: 2.98 in 2006 

WHIP career: 1.211 season low: 1.025 in 2010 led NL: 1.025 in 2010 

Innings Pitched career: 2,245 ⅓ season high: 241 ⅔ in 2005 

Strikeouts career: 1,852 season high: 208 in 2002 

Strikeouts Per Nine Innings career: 7.4 season high: 8.2 in 2010 

Walks career: 520 (34 intentional) season high: 62 in 2002 and 2004 

Strikeouts Per Walk career: 3.56 season high: 4.37 in 2006 led NL: 4.37 in 2006 

Fielding Percentage career: .982 season high: 1.000 in 2005, 2007, 2008, and 2009 led NL P: 1.000 in 2005, 2007, 2008, and 2009 

Double Plays career: 31 season high: 5 in 2011 

Putouts career: 169 season high: 24 in 2008 led NL P: 24 in 2008 

Assists career: 310 season high: 38 in 2002 

DID YOU KNOW? 

-finished 22nd in the NL MVP Award voting in 2001 and 23rd in 2002, 2004, and 2005 

-was a three time all-star (2005-07) 

-led the Majors with 20 sacrifice bunts in 2006