Hall of Fame bound?

Today, Mike Mussina announced that he was retiring from baseball after 18 years in the league. Honestly, I was surprised that he retired after the year that he had this past season. Mussina won 20 games in a season for the first time in his career. He was by far the best Yankees pitcher last season. And he's only 30 wins away from the coveted 300 win mark. Since Mussina has been a very good player for a good portion of his career, his stats will be examined for Hall of Fame worthiness. Here's my quick analysis of Mussina's numbers.

18 seasons. 270 wins. 3.68 ERA. 2813 strikeouts. 23 shutouts. 1 20 win season, 2 19 win season, and 3 18 win seasons. Won 64% of starts were he received a decision.

Even though Mussina was just barely below a .500 postseason pitcher, I think he has the credentials to get himself in the Hall of Fame. I also believe that Mussina should also get a few extra points for being a very good pitcher during the Steroid Era. If we say that the Steroid Era went from 1995 to 2005, Mussina won 172 games. While no one would say that Mussina was as dominate as Pedro Martinez or Greg Maddux, Mussina has to be in the Top 10 of pitchers for many of those years.

I can easily see Mike Mussina falling into the the same category as Jack Morris and Bert Blyleven. Good pitchers, but not good enough for the Hall of Fame. And if that happens, I wouldn't have any qualms with it. While Mussina may not make into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot, I see him eventually getting in.