Mike Mussina's HOF Career

As you know, Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina announced his retirement almost 2 months ago. Since then, there has been debate on his Hall of Fame chances. I thought that I should go into that discussion a little bit. Here we go.

Good

• 270 Wins
• 117 Games over 500
• Reasonable ERA of 3.68
• 7 Gold Gloves
• 17 Consecutive Seasons of 11 or more wins
• 3.42 ERA in the postseason
• Appeared in 2 World Series
• Pitched in the Steroid Era
• 5 All-Star Appearances
• 3 Time MVP award nominee
• Pitched in the AL East his entire career
• Won 20 games once, 19 twice, 18 three times
• Reinvented Himself after diminished fastball

Bad

• No World Championships
• No Cy Young Award
• Only one 20 win season
• Never been regarded as a dominant pitcher

Mike Mussina was my favorite pitcher of all time. I might be being a little generous to him because of that, but I honestly believe he is a Hall of Fame pitcher. First of all, I can think of a lot more cases for him than against him. Secondly, the luck factor, I believe, was never on his side. For example, only 5 All-Star Appearances, but with a little luck and generosity, that could have been 8-10 appearances. He should have been on the team in 2001, 2003, 2006 (I believe they asked him in 2006 a few days before the game, but he turned it down), and 2008. I also don't think people would have complained if he was on the team in 2002. As far as no Cy Young Awards, I think most people agree that he should have won it in 2001, but they looked at Roger Clemens brilliant record and didn't look at more important things, like ERA, walks per 9 innings, Batting Average against, or Strikeouts. I also thing that if he won in 1992, people wouldn't have complained. He pitched in the steroid era, where many of the top pitchers, like Roger Clemens, were all enhanced, and he played clean baseball. He pitched in the toughest division in baseball for 18 straight seasons, and pitched against 8 World Championship teams (1992-1993 Blue Jays, 1996, 98, 98, 2000 Yankees, and 2004 and 2007 Boston Red Sox). He pitched in Camden Yards, one of the best hitters parks of the game, and played for the Yankees when they had some of the worst defensive outfields I have ever seen. I think that when you look at the numbers alone, he is a great pitcher, but not a HOF pitcher. However, if you add everything I mentioned. Look at the luck against him, what he should have had but doesn't. He was an out away from a perfect game. Two outs away from a World Championship in 2001, two wins away in 2003, and one win from going to the 2004 World Series. Many of the stats against him were not his fault, and I believe that it should be taken into account. As for what cap he should wear, I would say a Yankee cap, because I think that is what he is remembered for. The Yankees are where his best season was (2008), his best pitched game was (Near Perfect-Game), and his most clutch postseason performances were (Game 3 2001 ALDS, Game 5 2001 World Series, Game 7 2003 ALCS, etc). Again, when you look at his numbers, he isn't a HOF, but when you look at other factors, I think those push him in. Maybe not on the first ballet, but he will eventually get in.

What do you think?