As expected, Mike Mussina will be announcing his retirement.
The veteran right-hander will make an official announcement later in the week, according to a report by Ken Rosenthal on Foxsports.com.
Mussina will be 40 on Dec. 8 and is coming off the first 20-win season of his career, posting a 20-9 mark with a 3.37 ERA in 34 starts with the Yankees this past season. The report mentioned that Mussina was waiting out the award season to announce his intent to retire. He won his seventh Gold Glove this year and first since 2003.
In a career that spanned 18 seasons, Mussina spent the last eight in the Bronx and compiled a 270-153 record with a career ERA of 3.68.
That may appear shy of the magic 300-win plateau seemingly required for immediate admission to the Hall of Fame, but Mussina was a five-time All-Star, appeared in 16 postseason series and had six top-five finishes in voting for the American League Cy Young Award. Mussina finished second to Pedro Martinez in 1999 and was sixth in voting this year.
The Yankees have expected Mussina to retire and have not figured him into their plans to rebuild their pitching staff. The club has already offered a six-year, $140-145 million deal to CC Sabathia and is pursuing right-hander A.J. Burnett, according to published reports.
Mike Scarr is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
A somewhat sad day for the baseball world. Thoughts or comments on Mussina?
