I grew up mainly in Virginia due to where my dad was stationed. Growing up a New York Yankee fan in Virginia is very hard to watch the teams that were airing daily during the summer. One of my best friends was an Orioles fan I believe mainly because at the time the Nationals were non-existent and even then who would really admit to being a Washington Nationals fan? So in the mid to late 90’s he was an Orioles fan and I was the Yankee fan. He had Cal Ripken to root for and I had Don Mattingly. The only games I would watch of the orioles even though sometimes they were the only sport on to watch were games when they played the New York Yankees and when a young kid who came from Stanford University by the name of Mike Mussina. He debuted for the Orioles in 1992 and I had always been a fan of watching him pitch. He was a thinking pitcher and was meticulous in what he threw because he was a small kid and not over powering like Roger Clemens. He was always known as a finesse pitcher with an arsenal of 5 pitches. I loved watching him pitch. Unfortunately despite his great career with the Orioles he always strived to reach the World Series which he was never able to do in Baltimore.
So after watching the Yankees win the World Series in 2000, he decided to make a team change to help him get to the ultimate show. And most players who want to accomplish this feat went to the New York Yankees. So after 10 years with the Orioles he became a New York Yankee. He actually made it to the World Series twice as a Yankee back in 2001 and in 2003 but never actually winning the ring. Sadly he went twice also to the College World series without a championship as well. He never won a Cy Young although he was a 7 time nominee. Was a 5 time all-star and 7 time gold glover. He spent 18 years in the league with a record of 270-153. He is 33rd all time in wins and 19th in strikeouts with 2813. Since joining the Yankees in 2001 he had at the time of his retirement in 2008 the most wins of any other AL pitcher. He is the 1st pitcher to ever win 10 or more games for 15 straight seasons. Now you can see why this pitcher was one of my favorites of all time. He was a complete and consistent pitcher. And 2 months then after attaining his first 20 win season, the oldest ever to complete that feat but watching the Yankees miss the playoffs for the first time in 13 years he announced his retirement. An as a Yankee fan I cant help now after watching the Yankees win their 27th championship that there was one man who was not on that podium, Mike Mussina. Who became a Yankee one year too late to win in 2000 and retired one year too early to win in 2009. But I will take this time to say thank you to Moose for being a class act and for all the years you have giving to the AL East. You should be a Hall of Famer!
I grew up mainly in Virginia due to where my dad was stationed. Growing up a New York Yankee fan in Virginia is very hard to watch the teams that were airing daily during the summer. One of my best friends was an Orioles fan I believe mainly because at the time the Nationals were non-existent and even then who would really admit to being a Washington Nationals fan? So in the mid to late 90’s he was an Orioles fan and I was the Yankee fan. He had Cal Ripken to root for and I had Don Mattingly. The only games I would watch of the orioles even though sometimes they were the only sport on to watch were games when they played the New York Yankees and when a young kid who came from Stanford University by the name of Mike Mussina. He debuted for the Orioles in 1992 and I had always been a fan of watching him pitch. He was a thinking pitcher and was meticulous in what he threw because he was a small kid and not over powering like Roger Clemens. He was always known as a finesse pitcher with an arsenal of 5 pitches. I loved watching him pitch. Unfortunately despite his great career with the Orioles he always strived to reach the World Series which he was never able to do in Baltimore. 
So after watching the Yankees win the World Series in 2000, he decided to make a team change to help him get to the ultimate show. And most players who want to accomplish this feat went to the New York Yankees. So after 10 years with the Orioles he became a New York Yankee. He actually made it to the World Series twice as a Yankee back in 2001 and in 2003 but never actually winning the ring. Sadly he went twice also to the College World series without a championship as well. He never won a Cy Young although he was a 7 time nominee. Was a 5 time all-star and 7 time gold glover. He spent 18 years in the league with a record of 270-153. He is 33rd all time in wins and 19th in strikeouts with 2813. Since joining the Yankees in 2001 he had at the time of his retirement in 2008 the most wins of any other AL pitcher. He is the 1st pitcher to ever win 10 or more games for 15 straight seasons. Now you can see why this pitcher was one of my favorites of all time. He was a complete and consistent pitcher. And 2 months then after attaining his first 20 win season, the oldest ever to complete that feat but watching the Yankees miss the playoffs for the first time in 13 years he announced his retirement. An as a Yankee fan I cant help now after watching the Yankees win their 27th championship that there was one man who was not on that podium, Mike Mussina. Who became a Yankee one year too late to win in 2000 and retired one year too early to win in 2009. But I will take this time to say thank you to Moose for being a class act and for all the years you have giving to the AL East. You should be a Hall of Famer! 
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