Comparing Mike Mussina To Don Sutton

There are many borderline Hall of Fame pitchers. Sometimes it takes something indescribable that puts that pitcher over the line. Don Sutton is not in the Hall, he wasn't considered a dominant pitcher during any point of his career, mostly due to pitcher at the same time as Nolan Ryan and Tom Seaver. Mike Mussina is in the same boat. Other pitchers have overshadowed Mussina during his career. Pitchers like Roger Clemens, Greg Maddux, and Randy Johnson has made what Mussina has accomplished seem average. Here are some of the comparisons that make Sutton and Mussina's careers parallel.

Mussina and Sutton both spent about half of their careers on dominant teams. Mussina has been a N.Y. Yankee for nearly half of his career; the other half was spent on the lowly Orioles, where he was second-banana to Cal Ripken Jr. Sutton spent half of his career on the L.A. Dodgers and the other half bouncing around non-contenders. Most of the time, Sutton and Mussina wasn't even the best pitcher on their own team. Sutton played with Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale, while Mussina pitched with Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson and Mariano Rivera. Most of their careers they were not considered the ace of the staff.

There are many stats that make Sutton and Mussina sound like clones. Their win-loss percentage is close, as well as their strikeouts per 9 innings. Both pitchers are not strikeout pitchers; they are very methodical with their approach. Durability has been a common thread with both Sutton and Mussina, they have regularly pitched over 200 innings each season.

Sutton and Mussina have played in All-Star games and World Series. Many consider them to have had great careers, but they will always be overshadowed by their own teammates. It is a shame, they both deserve to be remembered as one of the reasons their teams were successful.