Mike Mussina is not a hall of famer (and thoughts on other candidacies)

Former Orioles and Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina unofficially announced his retirement yesterday, closing the books on a very good career at the age of 40.

Note that I said very good, not great.

For the sake of posterity, let it be known that I am a big Mike Mussina fan. I really liked how he handled himself and I loved his pitching style. I was a big enough fan that I even liked him once he went to the Yankees, no mean feat. But still, how can anyone seriously consider him worthy of being in the same pantheon as Cy Young, Walter Johnson, Sandy Koufax and Nolan Ryan? He's not--but he IS in the same arena as Jack Morris, Jim Kaat and Bert Blyleven, none of whom are in the hall.

Here's the Moose's resume:

• 270 wins, 153 losses over 18 years
• 3.68 career ERA
• 7 gold gloves
• Sixth best winn ing percentage in history, .638 (behind Lefty Grove, Christy Mathewson, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens and Pete Alexander)
• One of 20 pitchers to end their careers 100 games over .500. 16 of the 20 are already in the hall and only one other (roider Roger) is in jeopardy of NOT going in (Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux and Randy Johnson being the other three).
  
• 19th on the all-time strikeout list

Not bad. Not bad at all. Here's why he should NOT make it into the hall:

• He won 20 games ONCE, in his final season. He would have won 20 in 1995, but that season was shortened by the strike. He won 19 that year and in 1996, but never won that many again.
• He posted season ERAs of 4.46, 4.81, 4.49, 4.56 and 5.15. Add in another season where he had an ERA of 4.05 and he had season surpassing the unofficial "no-go" line of 4.00 for HOF pitchers. Also, several of those seasons were ABOVE the AVERAGE league ERA. Not a good thing for a pitcher trying to get to Cooperstown.
• He never led the league in any major statistical category.
• He never won a Cy Young award. Only came in second once.
  
• He benefitted for playing for some very good teams (1995-97 Orioles, 2001-08 Yankees).

But here's the thing that sinks Mussina, in my opinion: It's the "Domination Test." Lots of people like to say that 300 wins means you're in the HOF. I don't think it takes that; I do think, however, that you had to be one of the guys that was immediately thought of as "the best in the game" whenever the conversation was had. I don't think Mussina, with the exception of maybe 1995, was ever in that discussion. He certainly wasn't in New York. When you thought "uh oh" when a pitcher was mentioned in the 1990s and early 2000s, you thought of Pedro Martinez, Clemens, Maddux, John Smoltz, Johnson and later, Roy Halladay and maybe even Roy Oswalt. If you can go to an era and immediately tick off FIVE GUYS better, without a doubt, than you, you're not a hall of famer. Period. The truly great guys win ERA titles, strikeout crowns, win 20 games multiple times, start All-star games and win Cy Young awards. Moose did none of those things. He doesn't deserve consideration.

(nope)

The most absurd argument supporting Mussina is that he pitched in a DH league during the steroid era, which gives him a pass for his inflated ERA numbers. What a bunch of crap. Ok, maybe that wipes Clemens out, because he was a cheat too, but how does that explain Pedro's incredible run? Maddux, Smoltz and Glavine all pitched in the same era (granted, in the NL), as did the Unit, and their numbers were far suprior to Mussina's. Here are the ERAs and win totals of two guys, from 2001 to 2006 --the alleged height of steroid use--who top Mussina easily:
Wins: (14,19,10,20,20, 15; 5, 19, 22, 8, 12, 16)
ERA: (2.73, 3.01, 2.97, 3.49, 2.94, 2.98; 3.16, 2.93, 3.25, 4.20, 2.41, 3.19)

Mussina's numbers for the same time: 17,18,17,12,13 and 15 wins, ERAs of 3.15, 4.05, 3.40, 4.59 4.41 and 3.51.

The two masked men? The two Roys, Oswalt and Halladay. Granted, this span happens at an earlier point in their respective careers than it did for Moose, but you can't take ANY five or six year period in Mussina's career, point to it and say, "yeah, he's better than those guys." And he played on superior teams. Anyone pimping the Roys yet for the HOF (though I'm suddenly ready to take up Oswalt's case if he keeps it up)? Nope, but they're more dominating that Mussina ever was.

(MY BOY FOR HOF!)

Sorry, Moose. No HOF for you.

Other pitchers getting HOF discussion:
Bert Blyleven (287-250, 3.31 career ERA) -- this is tough, but the only reason Blyleven is in the mix is because he pitched FOREVER (22 years), had a legendary curveball and is a really nice guy. Only won 20 games once, no Cy Young. He also gave up 50 HOMERS IN A SEASON! No. Sorry, but no.

Pedro Martinez: (214-99, 2.91 ERA, Still active after 17 seasons): The most dominating pitcher for seven years (1997-2004), even though he was limited by injuries. Winner of multiple Cy Young awards, strikeout titles, ERA crowns. Career ERA nearly TWO POINTS lower than the average ERA for his time. Owned the AL at the height of the steroid era; WON A CY YOUNG WITH THE EXPOS, for God's sake! He was not simply dominant, he owned the game. He's in. If I had a ballot, he's in first time he's eligible.

(si)

John Smoltz: (210-146, 3.26 ERA, 154 saves; still active after 20 years). Cy Young winner, though he got to 20 wins only once. He has 3000 strikeouts and would have a higher win total if he hadn't closed for three years (his 55 saves in one of those seasons, however, was an NL record). He is also 15-4 with an ERA around 2.50 in the postseason. One of baseball's ultimate money pitchers, a dominant power pitcher and untouchable closer--a very rare hybrid of greatness. He's in.

(Mark supports me for the hall? YES!)

Curt Schilling: If Smoltz has a competitor for the money pitcher designation for the past 30 years, it's from this guy and his 11-2 postseason record and the bloody sock and all that. But his regular season numbers compare to Smoltz WITHOUT the bullpen years taken into account (216-146. 3.46 ERA, 3000 + strikeouts). But here's the thing with Schilling: a large majority of his wins come in nine of his 20 seasons (23, 22, 21, 17, 16 and three 15s). He also has a lot of 8 win seasons, 6 wins seasons, even a 2-8 mark. He does have a Cy Young, but he doesn't have consistency, enough wins or something that makes him unique. He WAS very good in the postseason; so was Jack Morris. So was Dave McNally. Neither are in, nor should they be.

(Schilling will now blog about how I'm an asshole)

Andy Pettitte and Jamie Moyer: For the love of God, get serious. No.