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Yankees: The 5 best pitching seasons of the 21st century in the Bronx

By Ryan Morik

Chien-Ming Wang #40 of the New York Yankees pitches to the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium on May 27, 2006 in the Bronx Borough of New York City.The Yankees defeated the Royals 15-4. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)
Chien-Ming Wang #40 of the New York Yankees pitches to the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium on May 27, 2006 in the Bronx Borough of New York City.The Yankees defeated the Royals 15-4. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images) /
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MIAMI – OCTOBER 21: Starting pitcher Mike Mussina #35 of the New York Yankees pitches during game three of the Major League Baseball World Series against the Florida Marlins on October 21, 2003 at Pro Player Stadium in Miami, Florida. The Yankees defeated the Marlins 6-1. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
MIAMI – OCTOBER 21: Starting pitcher Mike Mussina #35 of the New York Yankees pitches during game three of the Major League Baseball World Series against the Florida Marlins on October 21, 2003 at Pro Player Stadium in Miami, Florida. The Yankees defeated the Marlins 6-1. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

Mike Mussina, 2003, 6.6 WAR

It’s pretty wild to think that Moose was not named an All-Star, nor did he receive any Cy Young Award or MVP votes, even though his 6.6 WAR the seventh-best mark among all pitchers in baseball that year.

His 1.08 WHIP was the sixth-lowest in baseball among starters, too. He also walked 1.68 batters per nine innings, the fifth-best mark in baseball. He struck out the eighth-most batters in baseball (195), and his 8.2 K/9 was the ninth-best mark in the majors.

Meanwhile, his teammate, Andy Pettitte, had a 4.02 ERA, 180 strikeouts, and a 1.33 WHIP. He finished in sixth-place in that year’s voting.

Jamie Moyer, who finished fifth, struck out just 129 batters and had a slightly better ERA than Moose – 3.27.

I get that Mussina was no favorite to the media, but how can you have him finish in the top-six eight times, and then he clearly has a better season than at least two guys who finished with votes?

In his lone World Series start that year, he struck out nine and walked one (intentionally) while allowing just one run on seven hits in seven innings.

The Yankees, of course, lost to the Marlins. And that would be Mussina’s final World Series appearance.

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