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NEW YORK -- Mike Mussina hinted for months that he might be pitching through a big league schedule for the final time, speaking openly about how nice it might be to spend his days at home in Pennsylvania with 20 wins in his back pocket.
The Yankees right-hander is primed to follow through on those plans, reportedly planning to make his retirement official in an announcement planned for later this week.
Mussina, who will turn 40 in December, became the oldest pitcher to become a 20-game winner for the first time this past season. He will be the first pitcher to retire following a 20-win season since Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax did so in 1967.
But there is a major difference -- the standout Dodgers ace retired for injury-related reasons, while Mussina's performance in 2008 indicates that he could be walking away with more to offer.
"I think it'd be pretty cool [to retire after 20 wins]," Mussina said in September. "I don't know what everyone else thinks, but I think it'd be pretty cool."
It was a renaissance campaign for the veteran, who revamped his pitching style and bounced back in a big way, one year after being removed from the Yankees' rotation due to ineffectiveness. Mussina finished the 2008 season 20-9 with a 3.37 ERA in 34 starts for New York and will complete his Major League career with 270 victories.
That total is a piece of the reason why Mussina is not expected to be on a mound for the beginning of the 2009 campaign, the first year since 1991 that he will not wear a big league uniform.
As Mussina explained in September, it would be more difficult to walk away from the game if he moves closer to the 300-win mark; as he succinctly put it, "If I'm in for one, I'm in for three."
The Yankees had not been operating as though they were expecting Mussina to return, as both Girardi and general manager Brian Cashman expressed doubts. Speaking on Wednesday in New York, Girardi said that he was not surprised by reports of Mussina's retirement.
"He had led me to believe that that's what was going to happen at the end of the year," Girardi said. "I wasn't quite sure, in a sense, that I believed him. Sometimes when you get away from it, you really miss it, and your family might encourage you to go. But I know he talked about wanting to be home more, and if he does, I won't be surprised."
Yet Girardi -- who said he had not spoken with Mussina recently -- added a caveat.
"But if he comes back, I won't be surprised, either," Girardi said. "I wouldn't necessarily be surprised if that's what he said and he changes his mind in January. You know it's something that has been such a huge part of his life and his family's life that you miss it."
New York has made revamping its starting rotation a top priority for next season, having already offered a monster six-year, $140 million deal to CC Sabathia and reportedly plotted packages for both A.J. Burnett and Derek Lowe.
With Chien-Ming Wang and Joba Chamberlain the only guaranteed members of the Yankees' rotation, the back end is also expected to be filled in by veteran Andy Pettitte, who has informed the club that he wishes to pitch in 2009 and is awaiting an offer. The Yankees left the light on for Mussina but weren't expecting his return.
"We were just waiting to see what he said," Girardi said. "He has been on our radar screen, as well as many other starting pitchers that are free agents."
Mussina, an American League Gold Glove Award winner for the seventh time this past season, spent the past eight years of his career with the Yankees, signing as a free agent before the 2001 season after pitching his first 10 years with the Orioles.
A five-time All-Star, Mussina appeared in 16 postseason series and had six top five finishes in voting for the AL Cy Young Award. Mussina finished second to Pedro Martinez in 1999 and was sixth in voting this year.
With 270 victories, Mussina is tied with Burleigh Grimes for 33rd on baseball's all-time list, having most recently surpassed Jim Palmer (268), Bob Feller (266), Eppa Rixey (266) and Jim McCormick (265).
Though Mussina was never able to win the World Series ring he had hoped to attain, he helped the Yankees reach the 2001 and '03 Fall Classics.
"It's been great -- I've enjoyed pitching in New York," Mussina said. "I've been really lucky to go out there and stay healthy and pitch on good teams and get to the World Series a couple of times. It's been great."
It was in 2003 that Mussina authored one of his defining career moments, pitching three innings of scoreless relief in the clinching Game 7 of the American League Championship Series against the Red Sox.
Reflecting late in the year, Mussina pointed to that game as one of his favorite moments in pinstripes and said that he would be "completely satisfied" if it so happened that he decided to walk away.
"This year has been so easy, as far as health and going out there and having fun pitching," Mussina said. "The months are just flying by. You have to sit down and remember that at 40 years old -- things aren't going to be getting better. They're going to be getting tougher. Then you have to decide if that's a challenge you want to face."
It would appear that, as expected, Mussina has made his decision.
The Yankees right-hander is primed to follow through on those plans, reportedly planning to make his retirement official in an announcement planned for later this week.
Mussina, who will turn 40 in December, became the oldest pitcher to become a 20-game winner for the first time this past season. He will be the first pitcher to retire following a 20-win season since Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax did so in 1967.
But there is a major difference -- the standout Dodgers ace retired for injury-related reasons, while Mussina's performance in 2008 indicates that he could be walking away with more to offer.
"I think it'd be pretty cool [to retire after 20 wins]," Mussina said in September. "I don't know what everyone else thinks, but I think it'd be pretty cool."
It was a renaissance campaign for the veteran, who revamped his pitching style and bounced back in a big way, one year after being removed from the Yankees' rotation due to ineffectiveness. Mussina finished the 2008 season 20-9 with a 3.37 ERA in 34 starts for New York and will complete his Major League career with 270 victories.
That total is a piece of the reason why Mussina is not expected to be on a mound for the beginning of the 2009 campaign, the first year since 1991 that he will not wear a big league uniform.
As Mussina explained in September, it would be more difficult to walk away from the game if he moves closer to the 300-win mark; as he succinctly put it, "If I'm in for one, I'm in for three."
The Yankees had not been operating as though they were expecting Mussina to return, as both Girardi and general manager Brian Cashman expressed doubts. Speaking on Wednesday in New York, Girardi said that he was not surprised by reports of Mussina's retirement.
"He had led me to believe that that's what was going to happen at the end of the year," Girardi said. "I wasn't quite sure, in a sense, that I believed him. Sometimes when you get away from it, you really miss it, and your family might encourage you to go. But I know he talked about wanting to be home more, and if he does, I won't be surprised."
Yet Girardi -- who said he had not spoken with Mussina recently -- added a caveat.
"But if he comes back, I won't be surprised, either," Girardi said. "I wouldn't necessarily be surprised if that's what he said and he changes his mind in January. You know it's something that has been such a huge part of his life and his family's life that you miss it."
New York has made revamping its starting rotation a top priority for next season, having already offered a monster six-year, $140 million deal to CC Sabathia and reportedly plotted packages for both A.J. Burnett and Derek Lowe.
With Chien-Ming Wang and Joba Chamberlain the only guaranteed members of the Yankees' rotation, the back end is also expected to be filled in by veteran Andy Pettitte, who has informed the club that he wishes to pitch in 2009 and is awaiting an offer. The Yankees left the light on for Mussina but weren't expecting his return.
"We were just waiting to see what he said," Girardi said. "He has been on our radar screen, as well as many other starting pitchers that are free agents."
Mussina, an American League Gold Glove Award winner for the seventh time this past season, spent the past eight years of his career with the Yankees, signing as a free agent before the 2001 season after pitching his first 10 years with the Orioles.
A five-time All-Star, Mussina appeared in 16 postseason series and had six top five finishes in voting for the AL Cy Young Award. Mussina finished second to Pedro Martinez in 1999 and was sixth in voting this year.
With 270 victories, Mussina is tied with Burleigh Grimes for 33rd on baseball's all-time list, having most recently surpassed Jim Palmer (268), Bob Feller (266), Eppa Rixey (266) and Jim McCormick (265).
Though Mussina was never able to win the World Series ring he had hoped to attain, he helped the Yankees reach the 2001 and '03 Fall Classics.
"It's been great -- I've enjoyed pitching in New York," Mussina said. "I've been really lucky to go out there and stay healthy and pitch on good teams and get to the World Series a couple of times. It's been great."
It was in 2003 that Mussina authored one of his defining career moments, pitching three innings of scoreless relief in the clinching Game 7 of the American League Championship Series against the Red Sox.
Reflecting late in the year, Mussina pointed to that game as one of his favorite moments in pinstripes and said that he would be "completely satisfied" if it so happened that he decided to walk away.
"This year has been so easy, as far as health and going out there and having fun pitching," Mussina said. "The months are just flying by. You have to sit down and remember that at 40 years old -- things aren't going to be getting better. They're going to be getting tougher. Then you have to decide if that's a challenge you want to face."
It would appear that, as expected, Mussina has made his decision.
