Goodbye Mike Mussina

The reports are that Yankees starting pitcher Mike Mussina will announce his retirement from Major League Baseball sometime this week. Already writers are preparing brilliant career epitaphs for one of the more beloved baseball players of his era.

John Donovan in this article on CNNSI says, "It's a funny thing with Mussina. When he announces his retirement, as he is expected to do later this week, he will be widely hailed as a Hall of Fame-type pitcher. His 270 wins and lifetime 3.68 ERA alone scream that. Yet many, especially in New York, will continue to see his time with the Yankees only in the black and white of Series won and lost."

I wrote way back in 2006 that Mussina is not in my opinion a Hall of Fame pitcher. Nothing has changed my opinion. 270 wins are impressive, but in my mind "The Moose" will always be more of a compiler than a great player.

Mussina never won the Cy Young Award, which is supposedly given to the best pitcher each year. He led the league in wins once (1999 with 19). He is a five-time All-Star and a seven-time Gold Glove winner. Mussina also never won a World Series title. (Not that a team accomplishment should be personally held against him.)

The lack of personal accolades stands out when looking at his Black Ink test on Baseball Reference. Of course, he placed near enough to the top a few times in the Cy Young voting and compiled some great statistics, so his other metrics are much better.

Back in 2006 I wrote, "Give Mussina his Yankeeography. Give Mussina praise for coming out to the ballpark year-in and year-out. Even shout 'MOOOOOOOSE' every time he gets a strikeout. Just please, never tell me that Mike Mussina is a Hall of Famer."

I still strongly believe that. Mussina was a great free agent value. ($14 million per year for eight years is outstanding. Combine his first Yankee contract and his extension and that's what you get, eight years, $111.5 million.) He was an above-average pitcher. He was not a Hall of Fame pitcher.