Mike Mussina

Michael Cole (Mike) Mussina (born December 8, 1968 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania), nicknamed Moose, is a Major League starting pitcher, currently with the New York Yankees. Mussina attended Montoursville High School and graduated in 1987.

A six-time Gold Glove Award winner and seven-time nominee for the Cy Young Award, he was chosen to be the starting pitcher in both nominations to Baseball America American League All Star in 1994 and Baseball America Second-Team Major League All Star in 1999. He also received Baltimore Orioles Player of the Year award in 2000.

He is fifth among all active pitchers in wins (239) and shutouts (23), sixth in complete games (57), seventh in strikeouts (2,572), eighth in innings (3,210.1), ninth in walks per 9 IP (2.02) and batters faced (13,118), and tenth in won-lost percentage (.641),

Through 2006, he is tied for fifth in the major leagues in shutouts (7), seventh in walks per 9 IP (1.83), ninth in wins (75), tied for tenth in games started (159), and thirteenth in strikeouts per 9 IP (7.91).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 went 14-4 with a 2.38 ERA.


Baltimore Orioles
In his first full season with the Orioles he went 18-5 with a 2.54 ERA in 1992. He led the American League in win-lose percentage (.783).

Mussina continued to post quality numbers in Baltimore, featuring two back-to-back 19-win seasons. The first was in 1995 leading the league, while also leading the AL in shutouts (4) and walks/9 IP (2.03). He achieved the second in the following year, 1996, while leading the AL with 36 starts.

Mussina helped the Orioles to the playoffs in 1996, when they eventually lost in the ALCS to the Yankees, and in 1997, when they lost in the ALCS to the Cleveland Indians. In Game 3 of that series, Mussina set the ALCS record for strikeouts in a single game when he struck out 15 Indians (The record was later tied by the New York Yankees' Roger Clemens in Game 4 of the 2000 ALCS against the Seattle Mariners).

In 1999, he had the third best win-lose percentage in the AL (.720).

In 2000, he led the AL in innings pitched (237.3). He held batters to a .205 batting average when there were 2 out with runners in scoring position.New York Yankees
Following the 2000 season, Mussina decided to leave the Orioles as a free agent due to their failure to re-sign him in the stalled contract negotiation.[2] He signed a 6-year, $88.5 million contract with the New York Yankees on November 30, 2000.[3]

In 2001, Mussina posted a 17-11 record. He was 2nd in the league 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 the postseason, Mussina started Games 1 and 5 of the 2001 World Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, posting a 2.63 ERA. He held batters to a .216 batting average when there were 2 out with runners in scoring position.

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.

In 2004, after Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, and David Wells left the team, Mussina became the ace of the Yankee pitching rotation. 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).[4]

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 allowed (.279.; 224/803), third in the AL in walks/9 IP (1.60; a career-best), batting average against (.241; 184/762), and strikeout/walk ratio (4.91), fourth in ERA (3.51), sixth in won-lost percentage (.682), eighth in strikeouts (172), and ninth in strikeouts/9 IP (7.84).

Mussina is 51st on the all-time win list with 243 wins as of June 30, 2007. 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.[5] He currently (as of June 13, 2007) leads major league pitchers with 20 interleague wins, one ahead of Greg Maddux.

Pitching
Mussina throws several pitches, including a 4-seam fastball in the low 90 mph range, a 2-seam fastball, a curveball, a splitter, a slider, a changeup, and the knuckle curve. Over the course of his career, he has become more skilled at altering speeds with his breaking pitches and has used different arm slots to confuse batters, and to compensate for the diminishing speed of his fastball.

During spring training in 2006, Yankee catcher Jorge Posada noticed that Mussina's fingers wrapped over the ball in a unique way whenever he threw his changeup. When Posada went to bat against Mussina during an intra-squad game, he used this sign to crush Mussina's changeup into center field. Mussina later learned from Posada that his ability to precisely time Mussina's changeup was due to his observation on Mussina's grip. With this feedback, Mussina adjusted his grip accordingly, making it extremely difficult for batters to guess that a changeup is coming their way. [1] He went on to win 15 games and post a 3.51 ERA during the 2006 season.

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 14 batters he faced for a one-hit 8-0 shutout.[7]
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.[8]
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.[9]
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 retired leadoff man Trot Nixon on a grounder, striking out 13 batters in a one-hit 1-0 shutout.[10]
On April 14, 2002, he retired the first 16 Red Sox he faced before surrendering a single to Doug Mirabelli with one out in the sixth. Mussina was replaced by reliever Ramiro Mendoza, and the Yankees finished off the 6-2 win.[11]
On October 12, 2004, he retired the first 19 Red Sox he faced in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series before surrendering a double to Mark Bellhorn with one out in the seventh. Mussina was replaced by Tanyon Sturtze, and the Yankees finished off the 10-7 win.[12] Mussina has also come just short of attaining several other notable career milestones:

Never won 20 games in a season, but won 19 twice and 18 three times. Reliever Armando Benitez blew the save in Mussina's last start in 1996, which would have been win number 20. He has the second most wins for a player who has never won 20 games in a season behind Dennis Martinez.
Never led the league in ERA, but has placed in the top 10 several times.
Never won a Cy Young award, but has placed in the top five six times.
Never won a World Series, but has reached it twice (2001 and 2003)
First major league pitcher with 20 interleague wins [2]