One in a series
Box-Toppers’ Stick-A-Fork-In-Them series looks at 14 players whose careers are done or may be done. Included is a look at how they have fared in Box-Toppers points over their careers, reflecting their impact on the game over time. This is the eighth of the series:
8. Roy Oswalt
Roy Oswalt
Here are Roy Oswalt's Box-Toppers statistics. The third column shows his Box-Toppers points (BTP) per season. The final column shows his All-Star Selections, his Box-Toppers key season rankings and his standing in key postseason awards voting.| Year | Team | BTP | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | hou nl | 17.1 | BTP-7, BTP-NL pi-4, CYA-5, MVP-22, RoY-2 |
| 2002 | hou nl | 10.8 | BTP-42, BTP-NL pi-15, CYA-4, MVP-23 |
| 2003 | hou nl | 6.0 | |
| 2004 | hou nl | 13.7 | BTP-16, BTP-NL pi-8, CYA-3, MVP-23 |
| 2005 | hou nl | 16.1 | AS, BTP-9, BTP-NL pi-6, CYA-4, MVP-23 |
| 2006 | hou nl | 12.4 | AS, BTP-28, BTP-NL pi-10, CYA-4 |
| 2007 | hou nl | 6.7 | AS |
| 2008 | hou nl | 11.0 | BTP-42, BTP-NL pi-17 |
| 2009 | hou nl | 7.7 | |
| 2010 | hou nl/phi nl | 17.0 | BTP-6, BTP-NL pi-3, CYA-6 |
| 2011 | phi nl | 5.7 | |
| 2012 | tex al | 3.0 | |
| 2013 | col nl | 0.0 | |
| Total | 127.2 | BTP-23, BTP-pi-15 |
AS All-star selection
BTP Finish among all players in Box-Toppers points
BTP-NL pi Finish among all NL pitchers in BTP
CYA Finish in league Cy Young Award voting
MVP Finish in league Most Valuable Player Award voting
RoY Finish in Rookie of the Year voting
Source: Information for player awards comes from Baseball-Reference.com
Roy Oswalt, who in five different seasons finished among the top 10 National League pitchers in Box-Toppers points and Cy Young Award voting, retired this month after 13 years.
Oswalt, 36, was always one of baseball’s best starting pitchers, but was never “the” very best pitcher, finishing as high as third place in both Cy Young voting and Box-Toppers points among his league’s pitchers. He struggled with injuries from 2011 forward and in 2013, he earned no Box-Toppers points when he pitched nine games for the Colorado Rockies and went 0-6 with an ERA of 8.63.
Oswalt earned 127.2 Box-Toppers points over his career from 2001 to 2013, ranking 23rd among all players and 15th among all pitchers. (Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995.) Oswalt spent his career primarily with the Houston Astros from 2001-2010.
Some career highlights:
• In 2001, Oswalt had 17.1 Box-Toppers points, a career season-high in his rookie year. He finished fifth in NL Cy Young voting, seventh among all players in Box-Toppers points and fourth among NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points. (Randy Johnson of the Diamondbacks won the NL Cy Young that year and also led all players in Box-Toppers points with 29.4.)
• In 2002, he had 10.8 Box-Toppers points, 15th among all NL pitchers and 42nd among all players. He finished fourth in NL Cy Young voting. (Randy Johnson of the Diamondbacks won the NL Cy Young and also led all players in Box-Toppers points with 33.7.)
• In 2004, he had 13.7 Box-Toppers points, eighth among all NL pitchers and 16th among all players. He finished third in NL Cy Young voting. (Astros teammate Roger Clemens won the NL Cy Young that year. Clemens had 18.1 Box-Toppers points, third-most among NL pitchers. Eric Gagne of the Dodgers led NL pitchers in 2004 with 19.7 points.)
• In 2005, Oswalt had 16.1 Box-Toppers points, sixth among NL pitchers and ninth among all players. He finished fourth in NL Cy Young voting. (Chris Carpenter of the Cardinals won the NL Cy Young and had the most Box-Toppers points of any NL pitcher, 21.0.)
• In 2006, Oswalt had 12.4 Box-Toppers points, 10th among NL pitchers and 28th among all players. He finished fourth in NL Cy Young voting. (Brandon Webb of the Diamondbacks won the NL Cy Young. Webb had 13.4 Box-Toppers points, ninth among NL pitchers. John Smoltz of the Braves led NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points with 19.1.)
• In 2008, Oswalt had 11.0 Box-Toppers points, 17th among NL pitchers and 42nd among all players. He received no Cy Young Award votes that season.
• In 2010, he had 17.0 Box-Toppers points, beginning the season with the Astros and ending with the Phillies. He ranked third among NL pitchers and sixth among all players. He finished sixth in Cy Young voting. (Phillies teammate Roy Halladay, who also retired after 2013, won the award. Halladay also ranked first among NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points with 23.4.)
Oswalt had seven seasons with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points and three seasons with 15.0 or more.
Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. Players earn Box-Toppers points for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Coming next in the series: Andy Pettitte
Previously in the series: Alex Rodriguez, Roy Halladay, Manny Ramirez, Johan Santana, Jim Thome, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera