Moose Goes Out On His Own Terms

I have to give credit where credit is due. Mike Mussina had hinted at retirement all season, and it looks like he'll keep to his word. With only 30 wins short of 300 for his career and a dearth of pitching in MLB, no one would fault him for extending his career and a few more big paydays. But is Mussina a Hall of Famer? That is a totally different issue.

Yes, Mussina was a model of consistency, extremely dependable. Honestly, I feel he was better than Phil Niekro and Don Sutton, two longtime compilers who hung around to reach milestones that 'guaranteed' Cooperstown.

Now there are those that say that Mussina should be in the Hall because he was so great in the 'Steroids Era.' But-is he a Maddux, a Pedro, even a pre juicer Clemens? Was he ever as good and dominant as Santana, Sabathia, or Doc Holladay? No. The Hall of Fame is for the IMMORTALS of baseball-guys that you KNOW are awesome, that there is NO QUESTION belong there. That's why Willie Stargell, Yaz, Pee Wee Reese and Phil Rizzuto are Famers who to me shouldn't be there.

Honestly, (and this is coming from a non Yankees fan) Ron Guidry to me was better. Would I take Mussina on an All Time Fantasy team or Bill James Baseball Sure, as a 5th starter after about 50-60 hurlers have been named. But when Mussina (like Sutton, Niekro or Blyleven as another example) wasn't even the most dominant pitcher in his league for most of his career, it's hard to see him with a plaque in Cooperstown.