Quote:
Originally Posted by 9lives
Comparing Koufax to Mussina is just insane. Can we get this back on topic?
|
This is correct, but compare him to Don Drysdale.
1. Drysdale's ERA+ was 121, Mussina 122 .... too close to call.
2. Both have about 500 GS and 3300 + IP, although Drysdale played fewer seasons. A pitcher only has so many innings in his arm and Drysdale pitched his with many more starts per year than Mussina, but in the long run Mussina is a more valuable pitcher... to close to call
3. Drysdale won only 209 games and lost 166 playing for GREAT Dodger teams, Mussina won about 250 so far and only lost 144 playing for GOOD Yankee teams..... edge Moose.
So what we have is a player that plays a career with consistency for a long period and puts up numbers as good as many hall of famers (not the elite pitchers but alot of the very good ones that are in). Yet he is not taken as a serious candidate by many writers. It is true he did not win 20 games - ever, but he is very consistent. Would you rather have a guy with 15-18 wins every year or a guy that will win 23 one year and 10 the next (Drysdale)???? Moose should not even be a second thought. This guy is a definite Hall of Famer. Very good for a long time.....
EDIT: Replied to this today because I was looking through the stats at Baseball Reference and Mike Mussina's career just totally blew me away. I did not realize how good this guy really is until I look at each yearly line and see that he was remarkably consistant and if he played in another era would be a 300 game winner and would be a lock for the hall..... it was surprising to see ZERO 20 win seasons for a guy with about 250 wins in his career..... No player with 250 or more wins has never finished a career without winning 20 games in any one season..... This is amazing......