- Joined:
- Nov 22, 2011
- Posts:
- 8,201
- Liked Posts:
- 3,271
- Location:
- Jeffersonville, Indiana
Let's throw out another guy who'll be a first-time eligible player for the 2014 ballot -- Mike Mussina.
In the bullpen era where no pitcher was ever supposed to sniff 300 career wins, Mussina was still able to sustain a memorable 18-year career with some interesting Hall-worthy statistics. It's incredible to believe that his first full-season and last full-season were arguably his two best. He was an incredibly durable pitcher (536 games started and 17 consecutive seasons with at least 11 victories) who ended up with 270 career wins, good for 33rd all-time. People continue to say a pitcher's win total is a meaningless stat, but I'm still a firm believer that it showcases a pitcher who consistently puts his team in the best possible position to win, much like a quality start.
Mussina amassed 2,813 strikeouts, good for 19th all-time. He also exhibited fantastic control, with a career K/BB ratio of 3.6. 5 All-Star appearances, 7 Gold Gloves and 6 Top-5 Cy Young voting seasons are other solid resume builders, but many other people will will point to a somewhat-pedestrian ERA and a lack of a World Series as two huge strikes against Mussina. He does, however have a career ERA+ of 123, better than Hall of Famers Bob Feller, Don Drysdale, Bert Blyleven, Gaylord Perry and Steve Carlton. People do need to keep in mind that Mussina spent his entire career pitching in Camden Yards and Yankee Stadium, two notoriously hitter-friendly parks, which is why ERA+ is key here.
One final thing I thought was really interesting when reading up on Mussina, I gathered from Louis Musto of SportsJourney.com. He was pleading his case as Mussina being a Hall of Fame-caliber guy --
At the end of the day, there are certainly some numbers that point to Mussina being worthy of Hall of Fame induction. I genuinely think he'll end up missing out during his years of eligibility. To me, he's always been a really, really good pitcher, but never a great one. He's a guy who exhibited phenomenal control, consistency and reliability, but never a prolonged stretch of dominance that is the mark of so many Hall of Fame pitchers.
"Then there's THIS moron over here who doesn't think I'm worthy to be inducted into the Hall! I'm 24th all-time in pitcher WAR, I won 270 games and earned 7 Gold Gloves!"
In the bullpen era where no pitcher was ever supposed to sniff 300 career wins, Mussina was still able to sustain a memorable 18-year career with some interesting Hall-worthy statistics. It's incredible to believe that his first full-season and last full-season were arguably his two best. He was an incredibly durable pitcher (536 games started and 17 consecutive seasons with at least 11 victories) who ended up with 270 career wins, good for 33rd all-time. People continue to say a pitcher's win total is a meaningless stat, but I'm still a firm believer that it showcases a pitcher who consistently puts his team in the best possible position to win, much like a quality start.
Mussina amassed 2,813 strikeouts, good for 19th all-time. He also exhibited fantastic control, with a career K/BB ratio of 3.6. 5 All-Star appearances, 7 Gold Gloves and 6 Top-5 Cy Young voting seasons are other solid resume builders, but many other people will will point to a somewhat-pedestrian ERA and a lack of a World Series as two huge strikes against Mussina. He does, however have a career ERA+ of 123, better than Hall of Famers Bob Feller, Don Drysdale, Bert Blyleven, Gaylord Perry and Steve Carlton. People do need to keep in mind that Mussina spent his entire career pitching in Camden Yards and Yankee Stadium, two notoriously hitter-friendly parks, which is why ERA+ is key here.
One final thing I thought was really interesting when reading up on Mussina, I gathered from Louis Musto of SportsJourney.com. He was pleading his case as Mussina being a Hall of Fame-caliber guy --
At the end of the day, there are certainly some numbers that point to Mussina being worthy of Hall of Fame induction. I genuinely think he'll end up missing out during his years of eligibility. To me, he's always been a really, really good pitcher, but never a great one. He's a guy who exhibited phenomenal control, consistency and reliability, but never a prolonged stretch of dominance that is the mark of so many Hall of Fame pitchers.
