Roy Oswalt announces retirement

Former Houston Astros ace Roy Oswalt announced his retirement from major league baseball on Tuesday afternoon, according to ESPN's Buster Olney.

The 36-year-old Oswalt pitched in the majors for 13 seasons as a member of the Astros, Phillies, Rangers, and Rockies. He compiled a 3.36 ERA with 1,852 strikeouts in 2,245.1 career innings and was a three-time National League All-Star, appearing on the NL squad for three straight seasons from 2005 to 2007. Oswalt amassed 150 of his 163 career wins from 2001 to 2010, the most of any major league pitcher during that span.

Over the past two years, Oswalt had signed with MLB teams during the middle of the season, pitching a half-season with the Rangers back in 2012 and appearing in only nine games for the Rockies in 2013. In his final big league season, Oswalt finished with an 0-6 record to go along with an 8.63 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 32.1 innings.

In his prime, however, Oswalt was one of the best pitches in the major leagues. He finished as a runner-up for NL Rookie of the Year during his inaugural campaign in 2001 and also finished in the top five of NL Cy Young voting on four separate occasions.

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Oswalt's best seasons likely came in 2005 and 2006 with the Astros when he posted a 2.94 and 2.98 ERA, respectively. During those two years, the diminutive right-hander struck out more than four times as many batters as he walked. Oswalt won 20 games in back-to-back seasons in 2004 and 2005, when he also won NLCS MVP honors as the Astros advanced all the way to the World Series.

Despite his retirement, Oswalt plans to remain involved with professional baseball at least in some capacity. According to Olney, Oswalt will team up with former agent Bob Garber as vice president of baseball operations at RMG baseball.

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