Mike Mussina

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Mussina was born on December 8, 1968, in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. At Montoursville Area High School in Montoursville, Pennsylvania he had a 24–4 win–loss record with a 0.87 earned run average (ERA) for the school's baseball team. In the summer, he played for the Montoursville American Legion Baseball team. While playing baseball in college, he also played in the summertime for Jerseytown, Pennsylvania of the North Branch Baseball League of PA (NBBL). Mussina also excelled in the sports of football and basketball as his records remain near the top of Montoursville High School's all-time boys' basketball career scoring leaders with over 1,000 points scored. An outstanding placekicker, he received an offer to play college football from Penn State University head coach Joe Paterno, but he turned down the offer to focus on playing baseball. He also received a Division 1 college basketball scholarship offer from Vanderbilt University. As a high school senior, Mussina just missed being the valedictorian of his graduating class. According to some reports, he intentionally came up short to avoid delivering a commencement speech. Mussina was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in 1987 but chose to attend college at Stanford University rather than sign. Mussina enrolled at Stanford University, where he played college baseball for the Stanford Cardinal baseball team. In three years with the Cardinal, Mussina compiled a 31–16 record with a 3.89 ERA. He made two College World Series appearances and was selected as an All-American. His junior year in 1990 was his best, finishing 14–5 with a 3.50 ERA over 149 innings, before being drafted again by the Baltimore Orioles, this time as a first round pick (20th overall). Mussina graduated from Stanford in 1990 with a degree in economics. He is a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity.

In Their Own Story

The 1995 season showcased Mussina at his peak, as he started and won Cal Ripken's historic 2,131st consecutive game on September 6. That year, he led the league with 19 wins and four shutouts while posting a league-low 2.03 BB/9. His control was so precise that his 1.069 WHIP ranked second only to Randy Johnson's. Yet, despite these numbers, he missed the All-Star Game and finished fifth in Cy Young voting. The following year (1996), he set career highs with 243.1 innings and 36 starts, winning his first Gold Glove. A late-inning bullpen collapse cost him a potential 20-win season, but his dominance was undeniable. By 1997, elbow tendonitis prevented him from starting Opening Day for the first time since 1993, yet he still recorded a franchise-record 218 strikeouts and threw 15 scoreless innings over two starts in the ALCS against the Indians.

Reader's Guide

Mussina made his professional debut with the Class AA Hagerstown Suns of the Eastern League in 1990. In the minor leagues, Mussina posted a 2.38 ERA in 189 innings. In 1992, Mussina's first full season with the Orioles, he finished with an 18–5 record and a 2.54 ERA in 241 innings. His .783 win–loss percentage led the league, and his 1.79 BB/9 was second best behind Chris Bosio. His four shutouts were tied for second in the league behind only Boston's Roger Clemens. He finished fourth in the American League Cy Young Award voting, and pitched one perfect inning in the 1992 All-Star Game. Mussina struggled in 1993 due to shoulder soreness, which placed him on the disabled list (DL) from July 22 to August 19. Nonetheless, he won 14 games while posting the seventh best winning percentage in the American League. Mussina also allowed 83 earned runs in only 167.2 innings of work for a 4.46 ERA while striking out 117 batters. He was voted onto the All-Star team, however he did not pitch in the game. There was a controversial incident toward the end of the game when Mussina chose to warm up in the bullpen, despite the fact AL manager Cito Gaston had told him that he would not enter the game. Orioles fans believed Mussina was warming up in preparation to come in and pitch the ninth inning, and when Gaston put Duane Ward in to pitch the ninth inning, the fans at Camden Yards spent the rest of the game chanting "We Want Mike" and booing Gaston very loudly, as the popular slogan "Cito Sucks" was born in Baltimore. The slogan could be seen on T-shirts or heard even years later in Baltimore any time the visiting Blue Jays came to town. Gaston was never treated well by Baltimore fans for the rest of his managerial career and he was subject to death threats for not pitching Mussina in the game. For his part, Mussina said he was just getting his work in, as he was scheduled to throw that day, and it was apparent Gaston did require his services. Mussina returned from the DL in August against the Texas Rangers, only to have the Orioles shut him down three weeks later in mid-September due to lower back pain. Mussina returned to form in 1994, but a player's strike cut his season short, causing him to finish with only 16 wins and 99 strikeouts in 176.1 innings of work. Mussina finished tied for second in the league in wins, and his 3.06 ERA placed him fourth. He was selected to hi

Did You Know?

• Mussina won at least 11 games in 17 consecutive seasons, a Major League record.
• He was a five-time All-Star and seven-time Gold Glove winner.
• Mussina struck out 25 batters in the 1997 ALCS, an ALCS record at the time.
• He graduated from Stanford University with a degree in economics and is a member of Delta Tau Delta fraternity.
• Mussina turned down