Mike Mussina

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Full Name: Michael Cole Mussina Primary Position: P Height/Weight: 6' 2"/185 First Game: August 4, 1991 Birthdate: December 8, 1968 MLB Experience: 16 years Birthplace: Williamsport, Pennsylvania Bat/Throw: Left/Right

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Born on December 8, 1968 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, Mike Mussina (Michael Cole Mussina) played for the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees over the course of his 16 year career. Mussina broke into the bigs on August 4, 1991 with the Baltimore Orioles, and put up a 2.87 ERA in 87.2 innings pitched in 1991, his rookie year.

There is some disagreement on what was Mike Mussina's most productive season. Some believe that it was 2001, when he posted a 3.15 ERA, won 17 games and struck out 214 batters. However, others believe that it was 1992, when he posted a 2.54 ERA, won 18 games and struck out 130 batters.

Mussina, nicknamed "Moose," graduated from Stanford University in December, 1990, earning a degree in economics in just 3 1/2 years. He was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 1st round (20th pick overall) of the 1990 amateur draft and in 1992, his first full season with the Orioles, went 18-5 with a 2.54 ERA. Mussina continued to post good numbers in Baltimore, featuring two back-to-back 19-win seasons in 1995 and 1996. Mussina helped the Orioles to the playoffs in 1996, where they eventually lost in the ALCS to the Yankees and again in 1997, where they lost in the ALCS to the Cleveland Indians. In Game 3 of that series against Cleveland, Mussina set the ALCS record for strikeouts in a single game when he struck out fifteen Indians. (The record was later tied by the New York Yankees' Roger Clemens in Game 4 of the 2000 ALCS against the Seattle Mariners.)

Following the 2000 season, Mussina decided to leave the Orioles. Mussina signed with the New York Yankees on November 30, 2000 to a 6-year contract. Many Orioles fans saw the move as a failure to act on their hometown team's part. Many fans felt that Orioles management wrongly assumed Mussina would stay loyal to the team, despite being offered more money and being heavily courted by Yankees management.

Mussina pitched well in his first season, posting a 17-11 record with a 3.15 ERA. In the postseason, Mussina started Games 1 and 5 of the 2001 World Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. In the 2001 postseason, Mussina posted a 2.63 ERA.

In 2002, Mussina finished 18-10 with a 4.05 ERA. In 2003, Mussina was 17-8 with a 3.40 ERA. In 2004, after high-profile defections by Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte and David Wells, Mussina became the unquestionable "ace" of the Yankee pitching rotation. Mussina was plagued by a series of injuries, and wasn't the pitcher he was in 2003 or before. He finished the 2004 season, 12-9 with a 4.59 ERA with a great late-season performance. In 2005, Mussina wasn't the Yankees' ace anymore. He still was inconsistent throughout the season and finished 13-8 with a 4.41 ERA.

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• Selected by Baltimore Orioles in the 11th round of the free-agent draft - did not sign (June 2, 1987).
• Selected by Baltimore Orioles in the 1st round (20th pick overall) of the free-agent draft (June 4, 1990 - signed July 28, 1990).
• Granted free agency (October 27, 2000).
• Signed by New York Yankees (November 30, 2000).
• Granted free agency (October 31, 2006).
• Signed by New York Yankees (November 27, 2006).

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