Posted By:
AnonymousI've grown to like Mussina a lot over the years.
Yesterday I read an article somewhere - might have been Buster Olney on ESPN - that said that Mussina basically decided that if he was going to keep his career going, he'd have to chase 300 wins. He felt that it would take him at least three years to get there, and so if he was going to come back, it was going to be for three years. Since his kids are old enough to play youth sports, he could be coaching them now, and he didn't want to miss three years of that.
It gave me some insight into his priorities. Sacrifice a major pitching milestone, and weaken his chances of making the Hall of Fame, not to mention walking away from a few million more dollars, so he could spend more time with his kids.
I like him even more now.
-Al