BaseballHappenings.com

The fact that Mike Musina has been surounded by alot of other talented starting pitchers while on the Yankees, has taken away from the legend of what kind of pitcher this guy was. As, he came up in Baltimore in the early 1990s and showed from day one he was clearly head and shoulders the best pitcher on the Orioles. He was everything that Ben McDonald was not. One weekend in 1994 I took a trip down to Camden Yard to see the awesome park for the first time and was surprised when I saw Mussina first hand. The way he pitched I always pictured he was a much bigger person physically. The way he pitched he became a fan favorite and for what he meant to the organization, I never imagined Mussina ever leaving Baltimore.

The reason why Mussina left for the Yankees in free agency leads to Peter Angelos. The Baltimore farm system was decimated by many of the short sighted trades. It came down to where Mussina could best win a championship and he chose New York and Joe Torre. Who could blame him for taking the money and the chance to best win a title.

In my eyes, Mussina was one of the best pitchers in the game. Did he win 300? He came pretty close. Was he a big game pitcher. Yes he was, but no Jack Morris take the team on his shoulders playoff performance comes to mind. He absolutely is a Hall Of Fame Pitcher. Certainly, if the Hall includes a Don Sutton.

Again, he would be a lock for the Hall in my opinion had he remained with the O’s. But, with the Yankees and the big market atmosphere, he just seemed out of his element. He finished strong with the twenty wins and that’s how people will remember him. A good way to go out.