It is now official.

Mike Mussina is hanging up the spikes after a brilliant 18-year career with the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees.

Unlike many other athletes nearing the end, Mussina decided to go out on top. The veteran right-hander enjoyed a renaissance in 2008, producing his first 20-win season to anchor a New York starting rotation decimated with injuries. He posted the second-best ERA+, 132 (league average is 100), during his time with the Yankees. He did this despite having to pitch in front of a defensively challenged team that ranked near the bottom of the league in defensive efficiency.

While he no longer had the dominant stuff that enabled him to have such a nice run in Baltimore, Mussina reinvented himself on the mound. His command was exceptional, as he struck out 150 against 30 walks and used his pitching smarts-putting that Stanford brain to work-to cruise through the American League East at 39 years old. A large part of his success came from his ability to get strike one; he did sox 68 percent of the time, one of the highest marks in the majors.

All in all, it was a nice final chapter in the career of one of the best pitchers of this past generation.

Now that Mussina is officially retired, it is appropriate to begin the Hall of Fame discussion.

The debate will surely rage on for the next five years. In my opinion, I think that he is indeed a Hall of Famer-though it is a borderline case.

Mussina was a model of consistency throughout his career. While wins are one of the most overrated stats in baseball-since they are so team-driven-it is hard to ignore the fact that he won at least 10 in every year since 1992. He also picked up more than 15 victories 11 times, collecting 270 for his entire career.

Many voters are myopic in how they evaluate Hall-eligible pitchers. A resume with 300 wins, it seems, is the golden ticket to Cooperstown, and this will certainly influence some votes for Mussina. However, this is an overrated barometer as an entrance to the Hall's doors. He could have attempted to come back for a few more seasons with his eye on the milestone. In reality, this would decrease his numbers in the stats that really define a pitcher's value.

Counting stats such as wins are misleading, since they are so context-driven. Often times, many players will extend their careers to reach certain marks in the popular statistical categories like home runs and wins. This negatively affects their rate numbers.

Credit Mussina for not falling into that group. Even still, there are only two eligible pitchers with as many wins who are not in the Hall of Fame-Bert Blyleven and Bobby Matthews.

Mussina, for his career, was 270-153 (.638 winning percentage) with a 3.68 ERA, 123 ERA+ and a 2,813/785 K/BB ratio in 3,562.7 innings pitched. He racked up at least 175 strikeouts nine different times, currently ranking 19th on the all-time career Ks list. Every other pitcher on the list is either headed to or already in Cooperstown. Durability was also an area of strength for him, as he had 11 seasons in which he topped the 200-inning mark.

Working against his case, there is only one pitcher in the Hall of Fame, Red Ruffing (3.80), with a higher career ERA. Only three other pitchers-Ted Lyons (3.67), Jesse Haines and Herb Pennock (3.60)-have their own plaque with a career mark above 3.60.

Outside of seven Gold Glove awards, Mussina lacks some important hardware in his trophy case as well. This also hurts his case. He finished in the top six in Cy Young voting nine times, though, again showing off his consistency. The highest finish of his career was his second-place nod in 1999, when he went 18-7 with a 134 ERA+. He had two top-four finishes as well. He was often overlooked in the Cy voting, though, because he was pitching in a generation that featured three of the greatest starters in baseball history, Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez, in his league during the prime stages of his career.

Some writers will be turned off by his lack of any major awards, citing an inability for him to dominate the competition relative to other pitchers in his era. During the mid-90s, though, he had some dominant stretches for the Orioles, despite pitching in a hitter-friendly environment. He was a force in the strike-shortened '94 season, posting his career-best ERA+, 163, while picking up 16 wins in 24 starts. He then collected 38 wins in the next two years, registering a 143 ERA+ in 1995. He also made five All-Star trips, all during his days with Baltimore.

Mussina was a near-annual Top-10 finisher among league leaders in ERA (ten times), ERA+ (12 times), BB/9 (15 times), K/9 (nine times), shutouts (11 times), strikeouts (11 times), runs saved against average (seven times) and WHIP (11 times). While his greatness and longevity were overshadowed in the 1990s by Clemens and Johnson and the Atlanta Braves' trio-Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux and John Smoltz-he was one of the most effective right-handers in his day.

Mussina also finished with a better career park-adjusted ERA+ than several Hall of Famers, legends and perennial All-Stars. Among others, the list includes: Bob Feller (122), Babe Ruth (122), Don Drysdale (121), Rollie Fingers (119), Blyleven (118), Tom Glavine (118), Warren Spahn (118), Gaylord Perry (117), Dennis Eckersley (116), Preacher Roe (116), Steve Carlton (115), Ferguson Jenkins (115), Phil Niekro (115), Dwight Gooden (111) and Nolan Ryan (111).

Mussina spent his entire career in the American League, pitching in its superior division, the powerful A.L. East, at the height of the steroid era during his stints in Baltimore and New York. Had he not had to face the DH and the superiority of the A.L. for his entire career, his stats would surely be even better. It is hard to ignore that.

The critics often cite that Mussina never won a ring. He just missed the Dynasty stretch in the Bronx, signing a six-year, $88.5-million deal shortly after the Yankees' last World Series title in 2000. He also lacks a defining postseason moment-Curt Schilling had the bloody sock, each member of the Atlanta group were all brilliant in their 1995 World Series run, ect. Still, despite a 7-9 record, he was effective in the playoffs. In 16 postseason series, he posted a 3.42 ERA and 145-to-33 K/B ratio in 139.2 innings pitched.

Mussina will be unfairly hurt by the fact that he did not win 300 games, only had one 20-win campaign and never won a Cy Young. At some point, though, it seems likely that he will make the drive up I-81 from his Pennsylvania home to Cooperstown to make his acceptance speech.

Moose, as they say, would definitely get my vote.

To reach Tyler Hissey, send an email to TylerHissey@gmail.com.