For those of you who are unaware, Yankees veteran and 270 game winner Mike Mussina has announced his retirement from baseball.  Although Mussina played his first ten years with the Orioles, and only his last eight with the Yankees, he will be remember as a Yankee, and will likely go into the Hall of Fame as a Yankee...wait, did I just say he will go into the Hall of Fame?

That's right.  Many baseball fans, especially Red Sox fans, will make a case against Moose getting in considering he only has one 20 win season (20 wins in 2008), and he falls short of 3,000 strikeouts and 300 wins, which are outstanding milestones for pitchers to reach these days, but some feel necessary.  After all, he never won a Cy Young or a World Series (a shock to many being with the Yankees for eight years)!

Now, rather than sit around and make a case against one of the greatest pitchers of the current baseball generation, it's time to celebrate the accomplishments of Moose.  There's no better place to start than the beginning.  

Moose was the 20th overall pick in the 1990 draft, the same year that Chipper Jones went #1 overall among many other future major leaguers including Tony Clark, Mike Lieberthal, Carl Everett, Todd Van Poppel, Adam Hyzdu, Jeromy Burnitz, Steve Karsay, and Rondell White.  At the time, Chipper Jones was only given a $250,000 signing bonus.  Fun fact: In 2007, first overall pick David Price was given a $5,600,000 signing bonus (no second round pick received as little of an amount as Chipper!)

Back to Mussina, who's only losing season was in 1991, his rookie year when he went 4-5 with a 2.87 ERA.  In 1992, just his second year in baseball, Moose finished 21st overall in MVP voting and 4th in Cy Young voting.  The right hander also made the All-Star team in 1992-1994, 1997, and 1999.  

In all of Moose's years as a work horse in 536 career starts, only in 2007 did he finish above the league average in ERA.  2007 was also the only season that Moose lost double digit games since 2002.  In two consecutive years, 1995 and 1996, Moose finished one win away from the 20 mark.  He also had three other years with an astonishing 18 wins.  

Mussina received MVP votes in 1992, 1994, and 2008.  He received Cy Young votes in 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2008, which will likely be his last season in major league baseball.

Although he didn't throw any perfect games or no-hitters, Moose ended up with six one hitters and 23 career shutouts, four of which came in 1992.  

As you can see, Mussina's accomplishments never seem to end, and did he ever go out on top!  In his only season as a 20 game winner, everything seems to fit into place.  With the Yankees heading towards a more youthful pitching staff, and his sons, ages 10 and 16, playing ball still, his time has come.  

When it comes down to it though, Moose finished his career with a 270-153 record.  By doing simple subtraction, Moose's win differential is over 100 wins, and every other pitcher that has achieved that mark is in the Hall.