N.Y. Daily News: Harper: Mike Mussina clean, but not angry

Mike Mussina, roids, the HOF…and boy, Harper’s bizarre. Astonish me, indeed.

You’d think Mike Mussina would be angry, full of resentment for the steroid users, big names and small, teammates and opponents. In some ways he is the quintessential example of a player who paid a price for pitching in the steroids era while resisting the temptation to take the plunge himself.

Over 17 seasons, Mussina has won 250 games and been an elite pitcher. He falls short on the Hall of Fame scale, but not by much, and, who knows how much closer he’d be to the magic number of 300 wins if the game had been clean throughout his career.

...But what about the possibility the users cost him a spot in the Hall of Fame?

“What would the difference have been?” Mussina asked. “A couple of games here or there? Who knows? And, if it changed the way other guys performed, it wouldn’t change the criteria of what it takes to go to the Hall of Fame.

“So I’m not upset about that. It doesn’t change the way I look at what I’ve been able to do. If I get a chance to go, great, if not, I’m not disappointed in anything. I’m glad I had the opportunity.”