He did, however, continue to gain support, and is … All Rights Reserved. Mussina was joined by relievers Mariano Rivera and Lee Smith and … All Rights Reserved. The 2017 Baseball Hall of Fame class will be announced on Jan. 18. That number crept upward to 24.6 percent in 2015. “I’d like to win 230,” he added, at a moment when he had 22. section: | slug: mike-mussina-should-already-be-in-the-hall-of-fame | sport: baseball | route: article_single.us | A model of consistency during his 18-year career, Mussina appeared on 326 of 425 ballots. Maybe it was part of his mask or image. Mussina's pinnacle came in an era in which, as Buck Showalter has always told me, "no one knew who was taking what," and the offensive numbers put a stain on the record books that will last forever. Covering the impact of coronavirus on the sports world. Remember that a player must be named on at least 75 percent of submitted ballots to be enshrined into Cooperstown. We're zeroing in on the Jan. 6 reveal of the BBWAA 2016 Hall of Fame class, one certain to include Ken Griffey Jr. and maybe another player or two. Few players talked more openly to me, when they chose, than Mussina. He's better than the baseline of the pitchers already in the Hall of Fame, and his quantity of quality seasons should help obscure that he was never undoubtedly the best pitcher in any given season. Had Mussina done that, then he likely would already have a plaque. If you're tuning in late, we've already poked at the candidates who will be removed from the ballot after one season. Because Mussina was so elegant, restrained and consistent and never won 20 games until so late, it’s easy to think of his great career as a fluid continuum without a flaw, but also without a glove-heaving, World Series-winning moment. We bring sports news that matters to your inbox, to help you stay informed and get a winning edge. In terms of Wins Above Replacement (WAR), our best publicly available method of pegging a player's overall value, Mussina's career mark of 83.0 ranks 24th all-time among pitchers and 58th all-time among pitchers and position players. . Sure, that’d be good. . Mussina then promptly retired, 30 wins shy of 300 and 187 strikeouts away from 3,000.But his inability to reach those milestones has mattered less and less to voters over the years, as the BBWAA's ever-progressive electorate grew to value more advanced statistics. He's 30th in strikeouts as a percentage of batters faced. He spent a decade with the Orioles, going 147-81 with a 3.53 ERA and finishing at least fifth in Cy Young Award voting five times. Former pitcher Rick Sutcliffe once said of him: “He is the whole package.” Mussina could maintain that whole-package shield for years. But while Mussina never led the AL in ERA+ during any given season, he did finish in the top-five seven times.

After graduating from Stanford with a degree in economics in 3½ years, Mussina always carried himself in a way that is seldom seen on a pro sports team — with no apparent fear of what the game could do to him or take from him. Yes, even as a starter at the age of 40, after finally getting to 20 wins in a season. Mussina, now 47, pitched 18 seasons for the Orioles and Yankees. Absolutely. After the Orioles drafted him out of Stanford with the 20th-overall pick in 1990, he made just 28 starts in the minors before reaching the majors for good. “Three of them are fastballs that move different ways — two-seam, four-seam and cutter. Over that span, he won 270 games and pitched to an ERA+ of 123. The Baseball Writers' Association of America voted Mussina into the Hall of Fame, where he will be inducted as part of a six-man class this July. He was a top-of-the-rotation guy then and was a top-of-the-rotation guy when he chose to walk away. In 23 playoff games (21 of which were starts), Mussina pitched to an ERA of 3.42 (versus a career regular-season mark of 3.68) and a K/BB ratio of 4.39 (versus a career regular-season mark of 3.58). Who retires when they are near the top of their game, within 30 wins of 300 and an automatic spot in the Hall of Fame? Because he seldom volunteered much of his sardonic, brainy personality and played the “nothing to see here” good guy while listening to Metallica on his headphones, Mussina is in danger of being canonized as excellent yet remembered . Then he signed a six-year, $89 million contract with the Yankees, which was very big money for a starter at the time. Keep in mind, of course, that Mussina's career coincided with perhaps the greatest offensive era in baseball history. (Voted by BBWAA on 326/425 ballots) (Voted by BBWAA on 326/425 ballots) View Mike Mussina's Page at the Baseball Hall of Fame (plaque, photos, videos). He is one of seven pitchers since 1969 to put together nine seasons of at least 200 innings and a 125 ERA+, and he did so during one of the most hitter-dominant eras in baseball history.• Moose's highlights on path to CooperstownSix of those campaigns came in Baltimore, where Mussina built a reputation as one of the game's smartest pitchers and fiercest competitors. The next year, he was a Yankee. As things are, though, he's still plainly deserving of election, as he stands as one of the 20 or 30 best pitchers in baseball history. #HOF2019 pic.twitter.com/Mlo9irY86s, In many ways, the consistency with which Mussina's Hall case trended upward mirrored the steadiness of his on-field production. Only five other pitchers in the history of the game have both won that many games and had a better winning percentage. Pitchers will understand what I'm saying: Mike would create his own zone. Covering the impact of coronavirus on the sports world. "I'm honored and thankful and blessed that a kid from the country got a chance to go out, play a game and accomplish something like this. He’s in good company there, just behind Pedro Martinez (119 games over .500) and Warren Spahn (118) and just ahead of Palmer (116). In 2008, his last season, Mussina won 20 games for the only time in his career. Cause and effect? section: | slug: will-mike-mussina-make-it-in-to-the-hall-of-fame-the-case-for-and-against-him | sport: baseball | route: article_single.us | Besides, the compiler tag doesn't make sense to apply to Mussina -- especially since how it's often stamped on players who hang around to chase counting-stat milestones. He wanted the ball, and did everything within his power to get himself ready to contribute.

Does Mussina deserve enshrinement? Beyond a sense of loss over the joy of playing, Mussina seemed like he’d simply win at something else. I wouldn't be sitting here if it weren't for Baltimore and New York. What’d he be, 55?”.

That improved to 24.6 percent the following year before mushrooming to 43 percent in 2016. He started 536 games over parts of 18 seasons, compiling more than 3,560 innings. On Tuesday, Mike Mussina completed that march toward immortality. As Sports Illustrated's Jay Jaffe points out, Mussina's WAR is more than nine full wins better than that of the average Hall of Fame-inducted starting pitcher. Once again, former Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees right-hander Mike Mussina was not voted into the Hall of Fame this year. Small-Hall voters might object, but Mussina will get in eventually -- just not this year. Mike Mussina and the late Roy Halladay will enter the Hall of Fame without the designation of team logos on their plaques that will hang in Cooperstown. On Tuesday, Mike Mussina completed that march toward immortality. The argument for Mussina is that he was a high-quality pitcher for nearly two decades. “That’s it,” spit out Mussina, who was in his free agent walk year. "We got a little time to figure out what the best plan is," Mussina said. Mariano Rivera is baseball’s first unanimous Hall of Fame selection, I asked how he planned to cope with failure. Mike Mussina should go into the Hall of Fame as a Yankee. The shame of it, though, is that he should have been honored on the first ballot. "Do I compare to some guys who are in?

By Jon Meoli Jan 22, 2019 at 11:55 AM Finally, in his last year, at the age of 39, Mussina won 20 and called it an elegant career.Could he have continued? The only way I can put it is that he didn't hear the music of the game as much as feel it. In spring training in 1993, after Mussina had gone 18-5 in his first full season in the majors with Baltimore, I asked Orioles pitching coach Dick Bosman what made Mussina so special. “I’m out of here.”. "I know a few guys have gone in without anything on their hat. “It’s pretty scary.”. The Baseball Writers' Association of America voted Mussina into the Hall of Fame, where he will be inducted as part of a six-man class this. Joe Trezza covers the Orioles for MLB.com. He finished with a lifetime ERA of 3.68 and an even lower lifetime postseason ERA of 3.42 across nine AL Division Series, five AL Championship Series and two World Series.Randy Johnson, a contemporary of Mussina, pitched longer (22 seasons to Mussina's 18).
This year, he finally ought to make But he left the way he came in with the Orioles when he was just a kid who quickly became somebody to watch. More HOF: One-and dones | Kendall | Griffey | Hoffman | Edmonds | Wagner | Trammell | Smith | Garciaparra | McGwire | Sosa | Clemens | Bonds | Schilling | Martinez. I think I do", Mussina told USA Today in 2006. Yet, at that high point, he surprisingly retired with 270 wins — two more than Palmer, although 123 came with the New York Yankees. When we took the field together, he was always two steps ahead of everyone else wearing a uniform.". Mussina was joined by relievers Mariano Rivera and Lee Smith and designated hitters Edgar Martinez and Harold Baines.

Mussina did pitch worse late in his career early on -- true of most everyone -- yet he finished with an ERA+ below 100 just three times ... and only once, in his penultimate season, did his ERA+ dip below 93, or roughly that of a league-average starter. And if he did, briefly, then ignore it, correct it and just continue succeeding. Mike Mussina won with elegance and consistency. He finished in the top six in voting for the Cy Young Award nine times. "More importantly though, he was a gamer, plain and simple.

"It's been a steady climb and I appreciate people staying with me, doing the research and feeling that I'm worthy of this honor.". Six years was nothing to the former Yankees and Orioles pitcher. Recently, we've turned our attention to the players earning serious consideration -- and determining whether they merit entry into the Hall or not. Mussina first hit the BBWAA ballot in 2014 and garnered just 20.3 percent support. He’s a well-deserved Hall of Famer. Simply put, Mussina, when it comes to overall career value, is well clear of any sensible cutoff for Hall worthiness. For one of the most accomplished pitchers of his generation, the climb to Cooperstown was methodical. He chose neither the Yankees nor the Orioles, opting to go into the Hall with a blank hat. The most important news stories of the day, curated by Post editors and delivered every morning.

“He puts it right here, here, here, time after time,” said Bosman, his hand six inches above the waist, where hitters seldom lay off, and at 90 mph, where they don’t swing and miss much, either. Then he would dismiss that uncontrollable factor and focus completely on what he intended to do. Sorry, Saints fans: Roger Goodell was never going to overturn the result of the NFC title game, Kevin Durant opening Prince George’s County facility to help kids reach, graduate college.