Perhaps many do not remember him because in the postseason he did not shine so much, in fact his record in these instances is 7-8, but even so, Mike Mussina had a very good 1997 year with the Baltimore Orioles with 2-0 and 1.42 average. clean; being the big man of the pitching in that team that disputed the American League championship against the Cleveland Indians.
The legend could begin to be woven there in that year but no, Mussina debuted with the Orioles in 1991 and already the following year, in his first full season, he registered a mark of 18-5 and a pcl of 2.54 in 241 innings of work; That was the great clarion that heralded a brilliant career at the first level of baseball.
He may not be as high-profile as other players from the 90s, but his name is there, among the great pitchers of all time and that is because Mussina recorded memorable milestones in the Major League Baseball; as the 11 consecutive seasons with 17 or more victories, a fact that places him with 270 successes in the 33rd place of all time. At this point it is worth noting that in 1995 he was the leader in games won with 19.
Mike Mussina was chosen five times to the Game of stars, 1992, 1993,1994, 1997 and 1999; always wearing the Orioles flannel. Similarly, he was awarded seven gold gloves for his defensive skills above the box.
Although after his arrival at the New York Yankees, he could not stand out as the great star that at the time he pretended to be, more due to the fact of not winning a World Series than for individual results; nevertheless, Mussina was for several years the great reference of the mound in the Manhattan Mules.
After his retirement in 2008, Mike Mussina left extraordinary numbers on his resume; In addition to the aforementioned 270 victories, it would be necessary to add 2,813 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.68.
In 2019, Mussina was elected to the Hall of Fame as a fair award for such a relevant career.