Mike Mussina has officially retired. This shouldn't affect the Yankees offseason plans (if that's the sort of thing you care more about) since they have long assumed Moose would call it quits, and besides maybe a Phillies rumor here and there because of his home in Pennsylvania I hadn't heard any other team quasi-interested in his services. Mike Mussina's Hall of Fame credentials should be a big topic of debate. He is often compared to with Schilling, and maybe they'll retire the same year prolonging the debate (what matters more, Mussina's Wins, or Schillings post-season dominance?).
Pitching in the AL East for his entire career, Mussina retires with 270 wins (.638 winning percentage) and a 3.68 ERA. Not too shabby Moose. Compared to some of his colleagues Mussina is going to be considered slightly worse (Clemens, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, Greg Maddux...) but he pitched in the American League his entire career where none of those did. Often people ask the question when debating the HoF, was there a period of time where this guy was the best in the business, where everyone was afraid of him? That's a tough question for Mussina because he pitched along side some of the best pitchers in the history of baseball. You can't really say that Mussina is better than any of those mentioned and you can probably add in some others as well, Glavine, Smoltz, andSchilling. Does that mean he doesn't deserve it because some of his peers were better? Or was he good enough in his own right that who he played along side with shouldn't hurt him? What do you think?
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