Will Mike Mussina wear a Baltimore Orioles hat in the Hall of Fame?

Mike Mussina spent his career split between the Baltimore Orioles and the New York Yankees. Which team will Mussina represent if he makes the Hall of Fame?

Former Baltimore Orioles pitcher Mike Mussina has been talked about the last few years in response to him being eligible for the Hall of Fame. He was one of the best pitchers in the game from the time he got called up to the majors by the Orioles in 1991, until he retired after the 2008 season.

The question is this: will Mussina be representing the Baltimore Orioles or the New York Yankees if, and when, he makes the Baseball Hall of Fame?

Mike Mussina pitched for 18 years, 10 of them with the Baltimore Orioles and eight of them with the New York Yankees.

Mussina ranks third in wins in Orioles history with 147, and he ranks second in Orioles history with 1,535 strikeouts.

Mussina’s win-loss record in Baltimore is an impressive 147-81, and he had a career 3.53 earned run average. As a Yankee, he went 123-72 with a 3.88 earned run average.

Mussina didn’t have the chance to win a World Series title in Baltimore or New York, but he was a lot closer with the Yankees; they won the year before he got to New York (2000), and the year after he left (2009).

You don’t have to look hard to build Mussina’s Hall of Fame case. He finished in the top-5 in Cy Young voting six times in his career, and finished top-6 another three. He also pitched in four all-star games and won seven Gold Glove awards.

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Mussina had one 20-win season, two 19-win seasons, three 18-win seasons, and two 17-win seasons. If I had a Hall of Fame vote, Mussina would definitely be in.

This is where it’s hard to choose – if I were Mike Mussina, I’d go into the Baseball Hall of Fame representing the Baltimore Orioles. This is based on numbers alone; 54% of his wins came in an Orioles uniform, along with 55% of his strikeouts.

It was a sad day when Mussina signed with the New York Yankees, but I understand why he did it at the time. He felt wanted in New York, and he knew that the Orioles weren’t going to be winning for a while – he wanted to win a World Series.

Here’s hoping for Mike Mussina making the Baseball Hall of Fame, and going in as a Baltimore Oriole.

If he’s elected, do you think Mussina goes into Cooperstown as an Oriole or a Yankee? And why do you think the Orioles haven’t been able to develop pitchers like Mike Mussina since he left the organization?