On July 30th, Roy Oswalt waived his no-trade clause to join forces with Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels to form H20. It was a heist that hadn’t been seen since Cliff Lee was sent to Philadelphia for a bag of baseballs the July prior.
Ruben Amaro had taken a lot of flak for trading away Lee after the 2009 season came to a close, so with a void to be filled, Amaro did all he could to make things right with the fans.
Amaro coerced Ed Wade into taking J.A. Happ, Anthony Gose and Jonathan Villar for the face of the Houston Astros. On top of that, the Astros agreed to pay $11 million of the $23 million that Oswalt will earn next season. Grand theft in its finest.
Oswalt instantly became a fan favorite in Philadelphia and for good reason. Since breaking into the big leagues in 2001, he led the NL in victories and strikeouts and was second innings pitched. The guy is a horse.
In 12 starts after joining the Phillies, Oswalt went 7-1 with a 1.74 ERA and a 0.895 WHIP. Crazy numbers, that helped earn him sixth place in Cy Young voting. Now we are just two months away from a full season of Roy Oswalt in Philadelphia, and of course he will be alongside Cy Young winner Roy Halladay, Philadelphia’s favorite son Cliff Lee, and Cole Hamels.
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