Mike Mussina

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Mike Mussina

New York Yankees — No. 35
Starting Pitcher
Born: December 8, 1968 (1968-12-08) (age 39) Williamsport, Pennsylvania
Bats: Left	Throws: Right
Major League Baseball debut
August 4, 1991 for the Baltimore Orioles
Selected MLB statistics (through June 8, 2008)
Win-Loss	259-148
Earned Run Average	3.70
Strikeouts	2705
Teams
Baltimore Orioles (1991-2000) New York Yankees (2001-present)

Michael Cole Mussina (born December 8, 1968 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania), nicknamed Moose, is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher currently with the American League's New York Yankees.

He is fifth among all active pitchers in wins (259), shutouts (23) and complete games (57), seventh in strikeouts (2,705) and innings (3,437.2), eighth in batters faced (13,886), ninth in BB/9 IP (2.018), and tenth in win-loss percentage (.633). His 259 wins are the most by any pitcher never to have a 20 win season.

[edit] Early life

During his high school years in Montoursville, Pennsylvania, he scored a total of 1,455 points for the basketball team, while compiling a 24-4 record with a 0.87 ERA for his baseball team. As a high school senior, Mussina was just shy of being named valedictorian of his graduating class. According to some reports, he intentionally came up short academically to avoid delivering a commencement speech.^[1]

He graduated from Stanford University in 1990, where he earned a degree in economics and was a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity.

[edit] Career

Mussina was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 1st round (20th pick overall) of the 1990 amateur draft. In the minor leagues, he posted a 14-4 record with a 2.38 ERA.

[edit] Baltimore Orioles

In 1992, Mussina's first full season with the Orioles, he finished with an 18-5 record and a 2.54 ERA in 241 innings. His .783 win-loss percentage was tops in the league, and his 1.79 BB/9 was second best behind Chris Bosio. His 4 shutouts were tied for 2nd in the league behind only Boston's Roger Clemens. Mussina finished 4th in the American League Cy Young Award voting that year, and was elected to 1992's All-Star Game, pitching one perfect inning.

Mussina struggled in 1993 due to shoulder soreness which placed him on the DL from 6/22-8/19. Though he still managed to win 14 games while posting the 7th best winning percentage in the American League, Mussina also allowed 83 earned runs in only 167.2 innings of work for a 4.46 ERA while striking out 117 batters. He was voted onto the All-Star team, however he did not pitch in the game due to his injury. There was a controversial incident towards the end of the game when Mussina chose to warm-up in the bullpen, despite the fact AL manager Cito Gaston had told him prior to the game that he would not pitch during the contest because of his injury issues and in case the game went into extra innings.^[2] Orioles fans believed Mussina was warming-up in preparation to come in and pitch the ninth inning and when Gaston put Duane Ward in to pitch the ninth inning, the fans at Camden Yards spent the rest of the game booing Gaston very loudly. Gaston was never treated well by Baltimore fans for the rest of his managerial career and he was subject to death threats for not pitching Mussina in the game. ^[3] Many believe Mussina threw on his own as a way of publicly showing up Gaston because he was angry at not pitching in the game. ^[4] Mussina returned in August against the Texas Rangers, only to have the Orioles shut him down three weeks later in mid-September due to lower back pain.

Mussina returned to form in 1994, but a player's strike cut his season short, causing him to finish with only 16 wins and 99 strikeouts in 176.1 innings of work. Mussina finished tied for 2nd in the league in wins, and his 3.06 ERA placed him 4th. He was selected to his 3rd consecutive All-Star Game and pitched one inning, giving up one hit while striking out one batter. Mussina finished 4th in voting for that year's American League Cy Young Award.

In 1995, Mussina led the league with a career high 19 wins and had one of his finest statistical seasons. He struck out 158 batters in 221.2 innings, allowing only 81 earned runs for an ERA of 3.29. Mussina led the league with four shutouts, and he also allowed a league-low 2.03 BB/9, while his 1.069 WHIP was 2nd only to Seattle's Randy Johnson. Despite his excellent season, Mussina was not elected to that year's All-Star Game, and finished 5th in the American League Cy Young Award voting.

In 1996, Mussina tied his career high with 19 wins, and set a new career high of 243.1 innings. His league leading 36 games started were also a career high. 18 of his starts that year were quality starts. He gave up 130 earned runs for an ERA of 4.81 and struck out 204 batters. Baseball America's annual "Tools of the Trade" poll listed Mussina as having the best changeup and best control in baseball in 1996. Mussina also won his 1st Gold Glove that year.

Mussina did not start the Oriole's Opening Day game in 1997 due to a calcium deposit in his right elbow. He had been the Opening Day starter for the Orioles every year since 1993. Mussina finished the season with a 15-8 record and his 3.20 ERA was 4th best in the league. In addition, his 1.117 WHIP was 3rd best, and his 218 strikeouts were not only a career high, but established a franchise record. Mussina was again voted onto the All-Star team after a two year hiatus, but did not appear in the game. He finished 6th in the American League Cy Young Award Voting, and won his 2nd consecutive Gold Glove.

His 1998 season was punctuated by two separate trips to the DL, once from 4/17-5/3 after a wart on his right index finger split open during a game, and again from 5/18-6/6 after a ball hit by Sandy Alomar, Jr. struck him on the face and fractured his nose. Mussina still managed to win 13 games and post a 3.49 ERA, with 175 strikeouts in 206.1 innings. His strikeout-to-walk ratio ratio was good for 2nd in the league, however he also threw ten wild pitches, the only time in his career he would rank among the league leaders in that category. Mussina won his 3rd consecutive Gold Glove with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage out of 50 total chances. On 8/4, Mussina struck out Detroit's Bip Roberts for his 1000th career strikeout.

Mussina had a very good 1999 season. He finished 2nd in the league with 18 wins, and his 3.50 ERA and .720 win-loss percentage were good for 3rd. Mussina struck out 172 batters in 203.2 innings while walking just 52, for a 3.31 K/BB ratio. He was voted onto the All-Star Team and pitched one inning, giving up one hit, while walking one and striking out two. Mussina finished 2nd in the American League Cy Young Award voting that year behind Pedro Martínez. He committed just one error out of 61 total chances and won his 4th consecutive Gold Glove, further cementing his reputation as one of the top defensive pitchers in baseball.

In 2000, Mussina recorded his first career losing record, going 11-15. However, he did not pitch as badly as his record suggests, as he allowed 100 earned runs in a league-leading 237.2 innings for a 3.79 ERA. He struck out 210 batters while allowing 44 walks. Opponents batted just .255 off him. Mussina committed just one error in the field, but was not awarded what would have been his 5th consecutive Gold Glove. He finished 6th in voting for the Cy Young Award that year.

[edit] New York Yankees

Following the 2000 season, Mussina decided to leave the Orioles via free agency. ^[5] He signed a 6-year, $88.5 million contract with the New York Yankees on November 30, 2000.^[6]

Mussina finished the 2001 season with a 17-11 record. He was 2nd in the league in ERA (3.15), strikeouts (214), shutouts (3), and strikeout/walk ratio (5.10), and 5th in strikeouts/9 IP (8.42) and complete games (4). In addition, he held batters to a .216 batting average when there were 2 out with runners in scoring position. Mussina started Games 1 and 5 of the 2001 World Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, posting an 0-1 record with a 4.09 ERA in 11 innings pitched.

In 2002, he was second in the AL in walks/9 IP (1.65), third in strikeouts (182) and strikeouts/9 IP (7.60), eighth in wins (18), and ninth in walks/9 IP (2.00). He held batters to a .198 batting average when the game was tied.

In 2003 he was third in the league in strikeouts/9 IP (8.18) and strikeout/walk ratio (4.88), fourth in strikeouts (195) and walks/9 IP (1.68), fifth in wins (17), and eighth in ERA (3.40). He held batters to a .190 batting average when there were two outs and runners in scoring position. During Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS, Mussina authored one of the greatest clutch pitching performances of all time. With the Yankees trailing Boston 4-0 Mussina made the first relief appearance of his career. With runners on the corners and nobody out, Mussina struck out Jason Varitek before inducing Johnny Damon to hit into a double play. Mussina went on to pitch 2 more scoreless innings and kept the Yankees within striking distance in a game they later came back to win.

In 2004, Mussina was looked to during the preseason as the ace of the Yankees pitching rotation after Roger Clemens retired, and Andy Pettitte and David Wells left via free agency. During the season he upset Toronto fans by complaining about a September pre-game ceremony honouring radio announcer Tom Cheek, who had made 4,306 straight regular-season broadcasts, from the Blue Jays first game on April 7, 1977 until June 3, 2004, when he missed two games due to the death of his father. The ceremony delayed the start of the game for approximately 15 minutes and Mussina blamed his poor start on the fact the ceremony delayed the start of the game. ^[7] Plagued by a series of injuries, he ended the year with a 12-9 record and a 4.59 ERA. He was fourth in the league in strikeouts (195), and eighth in walks/9 IP (2.19).^[8]

In 2005, Mussina finished with a 13-8 record and a 4.41 ERA. He was seventh in the AL in strikeouts/9 IP (7.11).

In 2006, he ended the season with a 15-7 record. He was second in the league in OBP against (.279), third in the American League in walks/9 IP (1.60; a career-best), batting average against (.241), and strikeout/walk ratio (4.91), fourth in ERA (3.51), sixth in win-loss percentage (.682), eighth in strikeouts (172), and ninth in strikeouts/9 IP (7.84).

Mussina has sole possession of 40th on the all-time win list with 258 wins as of June 3rd, 2008. He also broke the 2,500 strikeout barrier. With his victory against Cleveland on July 5, 2006, Mike Mussina became the first pitcher in American League history to win 10 or more games for 15 consecutive seasons. With an 11-2 win over the Indians on Aug. 11, 2007, ^[9] Mussina became the ninth pitcher in history to win 100 games for two teams (100 with the Yankees and 147 with Baltimore). However after two terrible outings versus the Angels and Tigers, manager Joe Torre announced on August 28 that Mussina will be demoted to the bullpen and that prospect Ian Kennedy will be called up to make the September 1 start against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Torre did not commit to Kennedy's place in the rotation beyond the one start, saying future plans would depend on Kennedy's performance. He is currently tied with David Cone for 21st on the Top 100 Major League Baseball strikeout pitchers He eventually regained his place in the rotation and ended the season with an 11-10 record on the year and a 5.15 ERA.

In 2008, Mike Mussina continues into 8th season with the Yankees, and is much needed part of an inexperienced starting rotation. As of June 4, Mussina has a season record of 9-4 in 14 starts. While statisticly this has not been his best start to the season, he has set a new personal best in wins by reaching 8 wins before the start of June, something he has never done in 17 years of service.

[edit] Near-perfect games

Mussina has pitched several near-perfect games throughout his career:

• On July 17, 1992, he retired the first 12 Texas Rangers before surrendering a double to Kevin Reimer. Mussina retired the final 15 batters he faced for a one-hit 8-0 shutout.^[10]
• On May 30, 1997, he retired the first 25 Cleveland Indians before surrendering a single to Sandy Alomar Jr. with one out in the ninth. Mussina struck out the last two batters for a one-hit 3-0 shutout.^[11]
• On August 4, 1998, he retired the first 23 Detroit Tigers he faced before surrendering a double to Frank Catalanotto with two outs in the eighth. Mussina gave up another hit in the eventual 4-0 shutout.^[12]
• On September 2, 2001, he retired the first 26 Boston Red Sox he faced; he then ran pinch-hitter Carl Everett (batting for Joe Oliver) to a 1-and-2 count before Everett blooped a single to left-center. Mussina then retired leadoff man Trot Nixon on a grounder, striking out 13 batters in a one-hit 1-0 shutout.^[13] (The losing pitcher, David Cone, had himself pitched a perfect game in 1999 with the New York Yankees.)

[edit] Other career achievements

• Six-time Gold Glove award winner.
• Seven-time Cy Young Award nominee, placing in the top five six times.
• Two-time MVP award nominee, garnering 2 points in 1992 and 8 in 1994.
• 1994 Baseball America First-Team American League All-Star starting pitcher.
• 1999 Baseball America Second-Team American League All-Star starting pitcher.
• Led AL in Won-Loss percentage (.783) in 1992
• Led AL in Wins (19), Walks/9IP (2.03) and Shutouts (4) in 1995
• Led AL in Games Started (36) in 1996
• Led AL in Innings (237 ⅔) in 2000
• Reached both the 2001 and 2003 World Series with the New York Yankees

[edit] Postseason Stats

Mussina has collected an overall 7-8 record and 3.40 ERA, with 142 strikeouts in 22 career postseason games.

Mussina's best postseason performances came in the 1997 American League Championship Series. He started 2 games, allowing one run, four hits, and striking out twenty five in 15 innings of work. However, the Orioles failed to score in both of his starts, and Mussina ended up receiving no-decisions for each.

[edit] Salary

On November 20, 2006, Mussina and the Yankees reached a preliminary agreement, pending a physical, on a two-year, $23 million contract.^[14] Earlier in the off-season the Yankees declined the 1-year, $17 million option on Mussina's previous contract. Under that back-loaded six-year, $88.5 million contract, Mussina earned $11 million in each of the last two seasons.

[edit] Pitching

Mussina throws several pitches, including a 4-seam fastball ranging from 86-90 mph, a 2-seam fastball, a splitter, a slider, a changeup, a curveball and a knuckle-curve.^[15] Over the course of his career, he has become more skilled at altering speeds with his breaking pitches and using different arm slots to confuse batters as well as to compensate for the diminishing speed of his fastball.

During spring training 2006, Yankee's catcher Jorge Posada noticed the unique grip Mussina used for his changeup and promptly hit a home run off it during an intra-squad game. Posada alerted Mussina to the tip-off, and he quickly worked to adjust the grip. Mussina's new changeup quickly became difficult for batters to recognize. The change paid dividends as Mussina went on to have what would be his best season since 2003.^[16]

[edit] Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• Married Jana McKissick in 1997. The couple have two sons Brycen and Peyton, and Mussina is also stepfather to Jana's daughter Kyra, from a previous marriage.
• He serves on the Little League International Board of Directors.^[17]
• He has the most victories in major league history among pitchers without a 20-win season.[1]
• Reliever Armando Benitez blew the lead in Mussina's last start of 1996, which would have been his first career 20 win season.
• Mussina's routine pitching from the set began in high school. He would slowly bend over to look through his legs and check on the runner at first base before rising and throwing the pitch
• Started and won Cal Ripken's record breaking 2,131st consecutive game on September 6, 1995.^[18]
• Sandy Alomar, Jr., who broke up Mussina's near perfect game in 1997, also broke Mussina's nose with a line drive in 1998.
• The opposing pitcher during his near perfect game in 2001 was David Cone, who at the time was the last pitcher to throw a perfect game.
• He is a crossword puzzle enthusiast who is featured in the 2006 documentary film Wordplay.^[19][20]
• Mussina has entered ballgames to The Zoo by The Scorpions throughout his Yankee career
• He shares his high school alma mater with Kelly Mazzante, currently a WNBA shooting guard for the Phoenix Mercury.
• Had not given up a grand slam since 1995 until he served up a Grand Slam to Carlos Guillen on August 16, 2007.

[edit] See also

• List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins
• List of Major League Baseball wins champions
• Top 100 strikeout pitchers of all time

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
• SI.com - Major League Baseball - Mike Mussina Player Page
• FOX Sports: Mike Mussina
• BaseballLibrary.com - Career summary
• Mike Mussina Foundation (Official website)