Once again, former Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees right-hander Mike Mussina was not voted into the Hall of Fame this year. He did, however, continue to gain support, and is very much on track for induction.

This was Mussina's fifth year on the Hall of Fame ballot and his voting percentage is most certainly trending in a positive direction. Here are his voting results over the years:

  • 2014: 20.3 percent
  • 2015: 24.6 percent
  • 2016: 43.0 percent
  • 2017: 51.8 percent
  • 2018: 63.5 percent

Players need to appear on 75 percent of submitted ballots to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Also, they can spend up to 10 years on the ballot. Mussina is halfway through his 10 years of eligibility and is inching closer and closer to induction.

Mussina is, of course, very worthy of the Hall of Fame. The biggest knock against him is that he wasn't Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux, or Roger Clemens, the pitching titans with whom he happened to share a generation. Consider some of his all-time ranks (min. 2,000 innings for rate stats):

  • Wins: 270 (33rd all-time)
  • ERA+: 123 (41st)
  • Strikeouts: 2,813 (20th)
  • K/BB: 3.58 (9th)
  • WAR: +82.7 (24th)

Furthermore, Mussina ranks ninth in pitching WAR and 17th in ERA+ since the mound was lowered in 1969. He is one of only 12 starters in history to finish with a 125 ERA+ in 10 different seasons. Mussina did all that while pitching in two hitter friendly home ballparks in the AL East at the height of the Steroid Era.

Given the voting trends, Mussina is likely to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in the next year or two (or three). He has five more years on the ballot, which should give him plenty of time to get over the 75 percent threshold. Mussina was one of the best pitchers of his generation and one of the best pitchers in history. He should be in the Hall of Fame already, but it's better he goes in late than never.