Tornadoes Destroy Roy Oswalt's Childhood Home

[TMU]

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd ... p&c_id=mlb

By Brian McTaggart / MLB.com
04/27/10 9:00 PM ET

Some of the jerseys Roy Oswalt wore when he was a rookie with the Astros were found hanging in what was left of the surrounding trees. The trophy he won for being named the Most Valuable Player of the 2005 National League Championship Series was broken into pieces.

Trees that had stood for decades were snapped off at the base. His parents' cars were scattered in the woods. His childhood home was a pile of bricks, broken timber and shattered memories.

The only thing that truly mattered to Oswalt in the aftermath of a tornado that swept through his hometown of Weir, Miss., on Saturday was that his mother, Jean, who rode out the deadly storm in the house she had lived in for 40 years, was unharmed.

...

Glad his parents are okay, but it's tough when you lose your home. I can't imagine what his parents are going through right now.

[RaoulDuke79]

Didn't this happen the same night he moved into second place on the Astros strikeout list?

Really sad story.

"It was pretty bad, worse than I thought it was going to be when I got there," Oswalt said. "The closet and one other bathroom, where the hot water heater was, was the only walls that were left in the house. I added that on for [my mother] a couple of years back, and that was the closet she was in. I was glad I made that addition."

Damn. That's kinda creepy, but it's good she made it out okay.

Using the bulldozer McLane awarded him after the Astros made the World Series for the first time in 2005, Oswalt leveled what was left of the house, and the rubble was burned.

Hey, at least he was able to put that thing to good use!



Seriously though, at least everyone is okay and he has enough money to help them rebuild. Like you said, I can't imagine what it must be like to go through something like that, but they're very fortunate to not only be alive but have the opportunity to rebuild and move on.

I predict a 20 K game from Oswalt against the Reds tomorrow.