clemens | The Baseball Zealot

Mussina: Will he get the call in 5 years?

Since Mike Mussina retired, many pundits have asked the requisite question: is the Moose Hall of Fame-worthy?

A valid question, to be sure. We’ve had a few retirees in the last decade who were no-brainers (i.e Ripken, Gwynn etc). But Mussina doesn’t necessarily fall in the “sure thing” category. That he isn’t a household name doesn’t mean he shouldn’t warrant consideration though. Let’s take a look.

The Over-under on his Overall

His career stats are certainly formidable and fall within the parameters of Hall of Fame caliber pitchers.

W   L   G   GS  CG SHO  IP     ER   HR  BB   SO    ERA 
----------+---+---+---+---+---+------+----+----+----+-
270 153 537 536  57  23 3562.7 1458 376  785 2813 3.68

A durable pitcher, Moose has pitched the qualifying amount since his second year in the league in 1992. His 270 wins is tied for 33rd all time. Winning percentage? He’s 38th. In strikeouts, he’s up to 19th.

While Mussina’s actual ERA of 3.68 puts him at 549th all-time (tied), his adjusted ERA+ (which is adjusted for the league and ballpark) of 123 moves him up to 78 (tied with Hall of Famer Juan Marichal).

All of that plus Mussina’s longevity, gives him a decent shot at the Hall.

The Down Side

But there are the detractors. There are those who say he never won a Cy Young (he came in 2nd in the voting in 1999). They say he never won 20 games… well, they USED to say that. They also point to his 7-9 postseason record.

These such detractors have dubbed Mussina with the nickname “Mr. Almost” with references to singer Kenny Loggins (due to his song, “I’m Alright”). Plus the worst insult of all… saying he should be be inducted to the Hall of Very Good.

Ouch.

Ok, maybe they’re not being fair. Many defend the Moose, in particular saying that his stats were across the board better (BB/9, WHIP, ERA, even strikeouts) in 2001 than Roger Clemens when Clemens won the Cy Young. The one thing that Clemens had going for him was his gaudy 20-3 record compared to Mussina’s 17-11.

That is just one example but it almost typifies Mussina’s career. Getting the dirty work done, doing it well, and not getting much of the credit. We’ll see what happens in five years. Most certainly he will be on the ballot and the same discussion will be had again.

I would vote yes but ask me again in 2013.

Baseball Zealot Radio #39: It’s Spring Training!

After some interviews on Baseball Zealot Radio the past few weeks, regular Todd and I finally get a chance to chat. As always, I’m treated to a bittersweet update of his team, the Pirates. I don’t give him too much crap about his team though… if I do, he’ll ask me which team actually won a World Championship (more than one, actually) in our lifetime.

In episode 39, we cover the latest in baseball news in light of the first week of spring training.

Enjoy!

Time: 45:10

Date Recorded: 2/17/08

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Keep partisan politics out of the Clemens case

The idea of politicians getting involved in the Roger Clemens matter just makes me shake my head and wonder. Yet, sure enough, there are rumors that folks in Washington are coming to the Rocket’s aid.

We had the same thing here at the University of Illinois when we had the nasty situation with the Chief. When the Chief’s existence was being threatened, many state legislators took action. Those misguided leaders, who apparently didn’t have enough to do with their tax-paid time and effort, made their lofty statements and attempted to pass resolutions to support the controversial mascot.

Despite how you felt about the Chief, it’s obvious (to me at least) that not only was it inappropriate use of their position, it was a obvious ploy for votes.

That all said, I ask all politicians to steer clear of the Clemens case. Clemens’ connection to the Bush family and any endorsement or implied pardon just gets in the way of finding the truth.

Oh, it goes both way too, Democrats… Clemens was almost booed by members of Congress yesterday, most likely Democrats.

Please… just do your job and do it professionally.

WILL HE OR WON’T HE???

Clemens%202.jpg
Roger Clemens
Photo courtesy of Jim Pierce Baseball America

Last year Roger Clemens timed his return to coincide with his wants. He wanted to be strong down the stretch, he wanted to rehab at two minor league teams he has an interest in, and he wanted to play ball with his son Koby. The Rocket signed a 22 million dollar deal with the Stros and the reported attendance at two of his rehab starts ended with the number 22. Quirky, maybe, but he has the rite to certain oddities. Clemens has indeed earned his place in baseball history, as one of the greatest pitchers in the history of baseball. And at the ripe old age of 43 he still has something left in the tank as evidenced by a 2.30 ERA, with a 7-6 record, 102 strikeouts in 113 1/3 innings pitched. His lifetime mark is 348-178 to go along with 4,604 career strikeouts. So what if he named his sons with each boy’s name starting with the letter K (Koby, Kory, Kacy, & Kody). Roger is a rawboned hard thrower out of the mold of Nolan Ryan, who can still, “blow that speedball by you. Make you look like a fool”, to paraphrase Bruce Springsteen. So we’ll have to see if the Rocket will be blasting off again in 2007 or whether he’s gonna come in for a landing at his home base.