In late February, a package that I ordered on amazon arrived. In the package, there’s a small box with 100 baseball cards. Among those 100 baseball cards, there are 2 hits. The 2 hits I got were 2 autograph cards. However, those 2 autograph cards aren’t so valuable.
Nonetheless, I found something interesting in the small box. The one that truly drew my attention is a Mike Mussina 1993 score baseball card. On the front, we can clearly see that Mussina was pitching. On the back, it showed Mussina’s stats from 1990 to 1992.
Mike Mussina made his MLB debut in August 1991. In his first season in the majors, he made 12 starts, posting a 2.87 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP over 87.2 innings. The next season, Mussina made 32 starts and got 18 wins. In 1992, he owned a 2.54 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP over 241 innings.
While looking at Mussina’s stats in 1991 and 1992, I began to think about a question. How good Mussina was in those 2 seasons?
To understand a little bit more, I chose to check on the great Fangraphs website.
Firstly, let’s look at the earned run average. From 1991 to 1992, among those pitchers who tossed at least 300 innings, Dennis Martinez was the only pitcher who had an ERA below 2.50. In 1991, he made 31 starts and finished the season with a 2.39 ERA. The next season, he made 32 starts and owned a 2.47 ERA over 226.1 innings. Moreover, Roger Clemens had a 2.62 ERA in 1991 and his ERA was 2.41 in 1992. And Jose Rijo pitched for the Reds in 1991 and 1992. He owned a 2.51 ERA in 1991 and the next season, he posted a 2.56 ERA.
Looking at Mussina’s ERA of 2.63 in those 2 seasons, well, his career in the majors might just start, but he truly had shown that he was one of the elite pitchers in the league.
In addition, let’s take a look at WHIP. 5 pitchers, who tossed at least 300 innings in 1991 and 1992, had a WHIP below 1.10. Roger Clemens had a 1.05 WHIP in 1991 and in 1992, he owned a 1.07 WHIP. Furthermore, Greg Maddux pitched for the Cubs in 1991 and 1992. Maddux had a 1.13 WHIP in 1991 and the next season, his WHIP was 1.01. Dennis Martinez posted a 1.12 WHIP in 1991 and in 1992, his WHIP was 1.03. In 1991 and 1992, Jose Rijo finished each season with a WHIP below 1.10. Again, Mike Mussina is one of those 5 pitchers.
Looking at Mussina’s stats in the first 2 seasons in the majors, at the beginning of his career, he had been one of the best pitchers in the majors. What’s more interesting, in 1992, Mike Mussina earned 18 wins. 18 wins, how hard is it to reach 18 wins? Well, the last time that a pitcher earned 18 wins for the Orioles was in 1999. And the name of that pitcher is Mike Mussina. To earn 18 wins in a season isn’t easy. And it’s even more difficult to see a pitcher from the Orioles reach 18 wins in a single season. The Orioles fans have been waiting for a long time to see another pitcher record 18 wins in a single season. Will any pitchers from the Orioles reach 18 wins in 2024?
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