Roy Oswalt's Children, Family Survive Deadly Tornado

Roy Oswalt's family – including his three children – survived last week's devastating tornadoes in Mississippi.

"It hit the ground about a couple of miles past our house and my in-laws' house. . . The town next to us is completely gone," the Phillies pitcher said Thursday. He was back in the dugout for the first time since leaving the team last week to take care of his family in his tiny hometown of Weir, Mississippi.

"The biggest thing is my three kids were there and it woke them up during the middle of the night and they had to run down to get in the storm shelter. It kind of scared them a little bit."

And with good reason. Last year, the home Oswalt grew up in was decimated by a tornado. His mom, clutching her beloved dog, took cover in a closet.

"She got in the closet and that was pretty much the last thing left, the closet," Oswalt said.

Look at what was left of their house and it really is hard to fathom how Jean and her Yorkie got out alive. Two children in the area did not. Oswalt, who was playing for the Astros at the time, went home then to help his family. The question of whether he'd go again this year wasn't really a question at all.

"I've always said this right here: Baseball is a gift that you're given to play, but this comes third or fourth on my list. You know, I could walk away from the game today and be happy. You know, as long as you have your family, they're gonna be there a lot longer than this game is gonna be."

After spending the last week on his excavator and backhoe, cleaning up and "trying to get trees out of the road so we could actually get home," Roy's ready for Saturday's start.

"I'll get out there and give it 100-percent and see how it goes."

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