Now that the dust has settled on Mike Mussina’s superb 20-win season, he will be relaxing at his Central Pennsylvania compound, deciding whether to retire now or play another three years in pursuit of 300 wins.

Indications are strong that Mussina will retire. He doesn’t want to miss seeing his kids grow up, and he may look at this past year as going out on top.

Without question Moose was the Yanks’ MVP this year. And although wins are a poor way to judge a pitcher due to the variances of run support, defense and bullpen production, winning 20 may still help him garner enough Hall of Fame votes when his eligibility roles around.

Mike got his 229 win in his 450th start. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only seven pitchers during the expansion era (since 1961) have won more games than Mussina in their first 450 starts: Tom Seaver (236-131), Bob Gibson (236-137), Juan Marichal (236-139), Jim Palmer (234-130), Roger Clemens (233-124), Randy Johnson (231-116) and Greg Maddux (230-128).

And this was before he went out and won 20 this year.

As if that weren’t enough good company, Mussina ranks among the all-time leaders for Runs Saved Above Average (RSAA), which is a more accurate measurement of a pitcher’s worth than won-loss. Just look at the company Mussina is keeping:

CAREER
1920-2007
                          RSAA
1    Roger Clemens        732
2    Lefty Grove          668
3    Greg Maddux          559
4    Randy Johnson        519
5    Pedro Martinez       511
6    Tom Seaver           404
7    Carl Hubbell         355
8    Bob Gibson           350
9    Curt Schilling       346
10   Bert Blyleven        344
11   John Smoltz          323
12   Phil Niekro          322
13   Whitey Ford          321
14   Warren Spahn         319
15   Mike Mussina         318
16   Gaylord Perry        317
17   Jim Palmer           314
18   Tom Glavine          313
19   Hal Newhouser        309
20  Kevin Brown           304

CAREER
1920-2007
3,000 IP

BASERUNNERS/9 IP        BR/9 IP
1    Juan Marichal       10.02
2    Tom Seaver          10.23
3    Catfish Hunter      10.34
4    Curt Schilling      10.38
5    Don Sutton          10.42
6    Ferguson Jenkins    10.44
7    Greg Maddux         10.51
8    Carl Hubbell        10.62
9    Robin Roberts       10.63
10   Dennis Eckersley    10.65
11   John Smoltz         10.67
12   Mike Mussina        10.68
13   Jim Palmer          10.71
14   Don Drysdale        10.73
15   Gaylord Perry       10.81
16   Warren Spahn        10.82
17   Roger Clemens       10.84
18   Randy Johnson       10.90
19   Luis Tiant          10.91
20   Bob Gibson          10.93

And for those who insist on winning percentage:
CAREER
1920-2007
3,000 IP

WINNING  PCT
1    Whitey Ford          .690
2    Lefty Grove          .680
3    Roger Clemens        .658
4    Randy Johnson        .648
5    Jim Palmer           .638
5    Mike Mussina         .638
7    Juan Marichal        .631
8    Carl Hubbell         .622
9    Bob Feller           .621
10   Greg Maddux          .610
11   David Wells          .604
12   Tom Seaver           .603
13   Tom Glavine          .600
14   Freddie Fitzsimmons  .598
15   Warren Spahn         .597
16   Curt Schilling       .597
17   Kenny Rogers         .595
18   Kevin Brown          .594
19   Bob Welch            .591
20   Bob Gibson           .591

And an added benefit: Moose doesn’t have to answer any questions about steroid use. I say put him in the Hall of Fame.

(As an aside: Team wins matter, pitcher wins are largely the result of other variances — like run support and bullpens and defense. It does not surprise me that the mainstream types who vote for the HOF don’t realize this. In time, they will be replaced by more knowledgeable people.

In 1962, Turk Farrell went 10-20 for the Astros. Some would have you believe he has a bad year.

However, Farrell had 203 K and 55 BBs. His ERA was 3.02 when the league average was 3.74. His WHIP was a superb 1.04. His only problem was he pitched for a bad team. Those were TEAM losses.

In 2001, Paul Abbott went 17-4 for the high-flying Mariners. His ERA was 4.25, the league average was 4.17. He had a 1.4 WHIP. He struck out 118 and walked 87. He was a lucky man, not even a league-average pitcher, yet he had a + 13 win differential.

How many games would Walter Johnson have won with the Yanks? Look at Red Ruffing’s W/L with Boston and then with New York.

Mussina did not win 20 before this because he was the victim of the strike-shortened years of 1994 and 1995, another time Armando Benitez blew the save in his 20th win quest, another time his quest for 20 was thwarted by a rain out. These are all beyond his control.)

This article originally appeared on
Mike Silva's NY Baseball Digest.