As far as I can tell, Mike Mussina announced his retirement today after 17 full MLB seasons, 9 with the O's, 8 with the yankees. I won't try to hide my bias: he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. Impossible to directly compare eras because of the increased role of relief pitching in today's game, so I don't want to hear anything about 300 wins. The two biggest stats in his favor -- 117 wins over .500 and NINE top 6 Cy Young finishes. No, he was never THE DOMINANT starting pitcher in the league over his career but nine top 6 Cy finishes says consistent greatness to me. Plus, the only other AL rightie with better numbers in his era is Roger Clemens and his forever-tainted legacy. Never was on a WS championship team BUT for the 1997 O's who went wire to wire first place, these were his postseason stats: 29 IP, 11 H, 4 ER, 7BB, 41 Ks against two of the highest run-producing teams of the decade (Mariners, Indians). So he gets in, I'll say on the fourth try. In the nine years between now and then, he'll get elected to the Orioles' Hall of Fame, allowing some of the bad blood between him and ownership to disappear; then he'll go into Cooperstown as an Oriole.
6 comments:
How exactly did you think you would be capable of hiding your bias about Mike Mussina? Everyone who reads this MUST know about your obsession.
And for those who don't know ... I'll just point out that Will seriously considered stalking MM's poor parents in the tiny town of Montoursville, PA (where probably no one even locks their door and are susceptible to the dangers of stalkers.)
I'm not sure if inviting myself in for tea to talk about their son really qualifies as 'stalking.'
Moose graduated Stanford in 3.5 years with a degree in economics. With the market going in the tank (see Steve's blog), can you believe this guy is passing up a 1-2 year contract @ say $10 million per to spend more time with his family? And he kicked a 60 yard FG @ Penn State football tryouts as a high school senior. And he loves cross word puzzles.
Will, I have to admit that I was not sure if Mussina should make the HOF, but I think the stat you provide of 9 top 6 Cy Young finishes renders him a true HOFer. He was never the most dominant, but was always in the cream of the crop, thus he deserves it.
I've been on the baltimore sun blog duking it out (MANY Moose haters there ... don't get me started) but there's a contingent of people who say 'if Blyleven and (Jack) Morris aren't in, Mussina shouldn't be in.' Well, 3 top six Cy finishes for Blyleven and four for Morris. Case closed.
Thanks in large part to Will's huge crush on him, Moose was the first pitcher I ever truly followed or cared about.
And that's why his departure to the Yankees leaves me with too many mixed feelings. I don't hate him, but I do feel jilted. It is tough for me to hope any more Yankees make the Hall of Fame.
Whose jersey will he wear in the HoF?
He's *so* dreamy!
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