MLB
Mike Mussina Goes to Cooperstown
Today the Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2019 was announced. The people getting in are: Mariano Rivera, Roy Halladay, Edgar Martinez, and Mike Mussina. Today, I will be covering Mike Mussina. You can check out coverage of all the other players on TSJ 101 Sports as well through the provided links!
Mike Mussina was voted in in his sixth year of eligibility with 76.7% of the vote, which is barely over the required 75%. Mussina was a pitcher for the Orioles from 1991 to 2000, and the Yankees from 2001 to 2008. In his 18 year career, Mussina had an ERA of 3.68, a WAR of 83.0, and a career win-loss record of 270-153. He was a 5x All-Star (three years in a row from 1992 to 1994) and was a very reliable pitching option.
2003 ALCS Game 7
Mike Mussina will be remembered for is his relief appearance in the deciding game of the 2003 ALCS. Mussina had pitched 95 pitches just three days earlier in a hard 3-2 loss to the Red Sox. With the Yankees down 4-0 in the 4th, 2 on and nobody out, Mussina was called in to work. “The Moose” came in and pitched three scoreless innings in the 4th, 5th, and 6th innings, holding the Red Sox at bay. He then handed the ball to Mariano Rivera (another 2019 HOF inductee) and he did the same thing. Just think if Mussina did not show up in those innings. The Red Sox might have won the 2003 AL pennant, and Aaron Boone would just be another bench player and maybe not Yankees manager right now.
Should the Moose Be In?
I have been hearing some talk that Mussina should not be in the HOF. They say that due to the fact that he isn’t as good as greats like Nolan Ryan, Tom Seaver, or Bob Gibson. Now Mussina obviously was not as good as those guys, but he was still a very good pitcher. He was a 5x All-Star, and at the end of the day, a Hall of Famer.
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