×

Mussina elected to Baseball Hall of Fame

ASSOCIATED PRESS Baltimore Orioles pitcher Mike Mussina pitches against the Texas Rangers during the sixth inning on April 29, 2000, at Camden Yards in Baltmore. On Tuesday, Mussina was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame, receiving 76.7 percent of the vote.

It started in the family basement. It will end in Cooperstown.

What a journey Mike Mussina has traveled.

Mussina gained baseball immortality Tuesday when he was selected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The Montoursville native and 18-year Major League veteran needed 75 percent of the Baseball Writers of America vote and received 76.7 percent, clearing his last hurdle by seven votes. He will be inducted June 21 in Cooperstown along with former New York Yankees teammate Mariano Rivera, Edgar Martinez, Roy Halladay, Harold Baines and Lee Smith.

It is the perfect capper to a baseball career that carried him from Montoursville to Stanford to the Baltimore Orioles and to the Yankees. Mussina retired in 2008 and reached the Hall of Fame on his sixth appearance on the ballot. Wherever he goes, whatever he does, Mussina will now forever be known as one of the greatest to ever play the game.

“I thought winning my 20th game in my last game was pretty cool, but to be thought of this way is exciting and humbling and all the words that can describe something that was not expected,” Mussina said. “I’m still sitting here in my sweats that I was wearing at (high school) basketball practice and I don’t think it has really hit me yet. I really didn’t expect this, this year. I was just hoping for a nice improvement like I had last year. It’s just really cool. That’s the only word I can think of right now.”

Mussina first appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot in 2014 and received just 20.3 percent of the vote. The next season he went up to 24.6 but starting in 2015, his percentages took big jumps and when Mussina reached 63.5 percent last year, a 2019 induction became possible.

But nothing was certain and the last few months featured forecasts that had Mussina barely reaching Cooperstown or barely missing it. As of 3 p.m. yesterday, Mussina had received votes on 81.7 percent of the ballots released publicly, meaning he had to be on at least 66.7 percent of the remaining private ballots to earn inclusion. It was a roller coaster ride until the moment Mussina received the phone call telling him he was in.

“From talking to some people and reading some things I knew it was going to be close,” Mussina said. “Because the numbers always drop when they add in the non-public ballots. I was hoping I would be in the 70s and preparing myself for not getting in and telling myself that, ‘it’s OK. It’s going in the right direction.'”

Then Mussina received the call of his life. It was 5:20 p.m. and basketball practice had just concluded when Mussina answered and heard a Hall of Fame official on the other end. Because there was a girls basketball game coming up, Mussina had to try and remain undetected as he took the call in an empty lobby across the school. After learning the news, Mussina had to plan his escape since nearly everyone at the school wanted to know his fate and he was not allowed to say anything until the MLB Network made the official announcement at 6. Mussina and his youngest son, sophomore Peyton, hustled out of the gym, stopped at McDonald’s for dinner and made it home without letting the information leak.

Once it became official, Mussina’s phone essentially never stopped buzzing. He already had received more than 100 texts and/or phone calls by 9 p.m. and still had many more that he was trying to answer. This was Mussina’s night, but it also was a community celebration as the 50-year old from a small central Pennsylvania town became the first local athlete to earn Hall of Fame honors in a major professional sport.

“I’m so happy for my dad. He deserved this. He’s always done things the right way and always taught us the same,” said Mussina’s oldest son Brycen, a redshirt freshman at Shippensburg. “I’m at school so I told him I’d be waiting for a call from him when he found out and, man, was I happy when I saw his name on my phone. To me, he’s not only a father but as good of a role model as you can ask for and as I grow up, I appreciate it more everyday.”

Mussina displayed unique sports talents before some children even knew what sports are. He was throwing football spirals at age 3 and soon developed a baseball passion. The Montoursville Little League field soon became his primary playground and he played his first organized game at 8 years old playing for Johnny Z’s. When the games or practices ended, Mussina kept working. When the sun set, Mussina was just starting.

Using strips of tape and making a strike zone on his parents’ basement wall, Mussina would throw pitch after pitch, sometimes waking up father Malcolm, mother Ellie and younger brother Mark. There was no keeping Mussina from playing. It was the same way in football and basketball once those seasons started. Mussina never set out to be a Major League pitcher. He just loved playing.

Still, it did not take Mussina long until he was turning Little League heads and creating a buzz throughout Montoursville. That buzz became a roar when he went to high school and went 24-4 in four years, compiling a 0.87 ERA and helping Montoursville reach two straight state finals in 1985 and ’86 with the Warriors taking the ’85 title. He also was a 1,000-point basketball scorer and an elite wide receiver, kicker and punter for the football team, but baseball is what had the scouts drooling.

The Orioles selected Mussina in the 11th round of the 1987 draft but Mussina went to Stanford instead and helped the Cardinal win the 1988 College World Series his freshman year. He helped Stanford reach the semifinals two years later and the Orioles made him the 20th pick in the 1990 draft. Mussina was outstanding in the minors and made his Major League debut Aug. 4, 1991, throwing 7 2/3 innings of one-run baseball but taking a hard-luck 1-0 loss. Mussina never experienced Minor League life again.

The 1992 season was Mussina’s first full Major League campaign and he went 18-5 with a 2.54 ERA, finishing fourth in the Cy Young voting. The Cooperstown Express had been revved up and would only continue building steam the next 16 seasons. Mussina finished his career 270-153, becoming one of only 16 pitchers to finish his career at least 100 games above .500. He also is one of only five pitchers to win at least 10 games a season for 17 straight years and reached 15 wins in 11 straight campaigns while helping the Orioles and Yankees make nine playoff appearances and two World Series.

A true pitcher’s pitcher, Mussina was as consistent and intelligent as he was talented. He kept hitters off-balanced with a deep repertoire of pitches, the most devastating being his knuckle-curveball. He suffered just one losing season during his 17 full years starting, won seven playoff games and became one of only 15 pitchers to strike out 2,000 or more batters than he walked. Penciling Mussina in each year for 15 or more wins became as reliable a bet as the sun rising each morning.

It stayed that way until his final season. Mussina dazzled in his first full season in 1992 and went out the same way in 2008, finishing 20-9 with a 3.37 ERA. In his final game, Mussina threw six innings of three-hit, scoreless baseball against the Red Sox and reached 20 wins for the first time. Rivera closed out the game and now he and Mussina will be teammates forever.

They will reunite today, along with Martinez, in Cooperstown. All three will be introduced at an afternoon press conference and then honored at a dinner later that night.

“It’s going to be great to see Mo again and to get to sit with him and Edgar and be in that environment,” Mussina said. “It will be fun telling baseball stories and finding out what everyone is up to.”

Mussina’s bust will be unveiled in nearly seven months. Once there, Mussina seemingly will be able to talk with all the other baseball legends on a daily basis. He now has a permanent home among baseball royalty.

In a way it is ironic. Mussina has never worn his baseball achievements as a badge of honor. When he retired in 2008, he returned to Montoursville, remained a devoted husband and parent, started coaching youth sports and helped the community in multiple ways. Mussina blends in here, but he now stands tall as an all-time baseball great.

“Once he retired, he was a coach of mine in at least one sport until I graduated. He was able to share a ton of my cool moments with me, and I’m glad I get to enjoy another one of his with him again, since I wasn’t around yet for some of his years in Baltimore,” Brycen said. “He’s been the most important person in my life, along with my mom, and I’m so happy for him to receive this honor. He did things the right way and it paid off.”

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

COMMENTS

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today