Will Mike Mussina make the Hall of Fame? The 38 year old Yankees pitcher has played in 17 seasons from?

Question

1991-2007 and has, 250 wins - 144 losses, 2,663 K's and 3.70 ERA. Moose might be the final pitcher EVER to get to 300 wins, if he plays another 4 or 5 years. I say you have to let in Bert Byleven, who has 287 wins, before you let in Moose, if he finishes under 300, you agree?

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/4715/career;_ylt=ArQD_q6C37R7lCR3g0M_UpOFCLcF

Answer 1

I don't think he has it left to play that well for that long to get to 300, and right now, he's borderline in most people's books. Wins are only part of the equation for the HOF, along with win%, K's, All-star picks, playoff records, and intangibles like how "dominant" you are. Mussina has been a very good, but not dominant, pitcher for all his career.

If he can pull a Maddux (and maybe go to the NL) and pitch well enough into his 40's, he may have a shot, but a lot of better pitchers are still waiting for their spot in Cooperstown.

So I guess we'll see...

Answer 2

He's not done, but we've seen his peak and he's now well past that, so unless he dips himself in magic waters, he probably doesn't have a surprise ending to his career that will markedly change the landscape of his Hall candidacy.

So I'm confident in saying No to Moose.

Good pitcher? Sure. But he is, at most, the sixth-best pitcher of his generation, and I'm not at all comfortable with the sixth-best being Hall measure. Clemens, Maddux, Johnson, Martinez, and Glavine make for an extremely tough crowd from which to stand out. (This also works against Schilling.) Starting pitchers from the 1990s and 2000s will be well-represented in Cooperstown; it doesn't look, to me, that Mussina will be needed to better tell the story of the time.

If he'd ever won a CYA or 20 games, that would only help; but a bunch of good seasons isn't the same career profile as having a couple of great ones, and he doesn't really have a couple of great ones.

Answer 3

Will he make the HOF? No, and there are plenty of guys who were/are 100 wins over .500 who won't make the HOF either. Should Mike Mussina be in the HOF? Not at all. And here's why: 0 Cy Youngs 0 perfect games 0 no-hitters 0 World Series Titles 0 MVPs Nothing. He played 18 years, 10 with Baltimore and 8 with New York. Ironically, the New York Yankees started out as the Baltimore Orioles. During his time with the Birds: Five-time all-star (on a team that was an o.k. team except for '91 and 2000, the first and last years he was with them) MVP voting twice Cy Young voting 7 of 10 years Lowest Team ERA 8 of 10 years Average an 18% share of his team's wins During his time with the Yanks: Never made the all-stars MVP and Cy young voting only one year (2008) Lowest Team ERA 4 of 8 years Only one year had 18% share of his team's wins (in 2008) The biggest thing I noticed was the fact that his completed games dropped off significantly during his time with the Yankees as did quality starts, but his innings per year didn't. He started more games, but won less. He won more than 50% of the games he started in Baltimore, but less than 50% in New York. Even with a better team, better pitching staff, and a much better General Manager, Mussina did not fair as well as he did with the Orioles. Mussina averaged a win less per year with the Orioles, but almost a 3% share of wins more. The Yanks averaged 32 games above .500 when Moose played with them, but when he played with the Orioles, they averaged 3 games above .500. When you look at his post-season numbers, it's more clear why Mussina is not a Hall of Famer. He can't win when it counts, the post-season. He's two games over .500 in the post season and faired the same no matter which team he played for. He played in an era where 250 wins weren't as important a milestone as 300 wins were. He played in an era where performance enhancers ran rampant. I have been saying for a long while that players need to prove they were clean since most are hiding behind the MLBPA and not speaking up about what went on. Especially when you play on teams that had so many PROVEN users, it's not hard to speculate that Mussina could have pitched 200 innings per year due to a little "boost." When Mussina left the Orioles they sucked bad, but before that they were a decent team. He never had Ace numbers and had an excellent closing staff at New York. This one, to me, is a no brainer, and I live in Williamsport, PA.

Answer 4

Mike Mussina was a very good pitcher in his prime, but I don't think he's a HOFer. First, there's no way he's going to win another 50 games and second I agree with your Byleven reference. I don't think Byleven is a HOFer either, but he's more deserving than Mussina. The Hall of Fame is reserved for truly special, elite players and these guys were great but not Hall worthy in my opinion.

Answer 5

I think "Moose" will eventually be inducted into Cooperstown.

5 time All-Star

6 Gold Gloves

250-144 win-loss record (.635 winning %), 2.02 walks per 9 innings pitched, 7.13 strikeouts per 9 innings pitched, 3,362 innings pitched, 2,663 strikeouts, 502 games started, 3.53 strikeouts to walks and 13,774 batters faced.

Baltimore Orioles all-time won-loss % leader (.645). Set their single season record for strikeouts to walks (4.57) in 2000.

The only other non-eligible pitchers who deserve to be inducted first are Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux, Pedro Martinez, Mariano Rivera, Tom Glavine, Curt Schilling, John Smoltz, Trevor Hoffman and John Franco.

Answer 6

It will take him almost the full 15 years of being on the ballot, but by the time he's 60-65, he will get the induction.

Answer 7

he will get in since he has been a yankee. He did get his first win in 1991 against texas, he got his first hit off of john smoltz.

Answer 8

It's a disgrace that Blyleven isn't already in. Mussina, however, will not make it.

Answer 9

It will take a while but he will be in.

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