Mike's dramatic transformation

Mike Mussina made it official today, announcing his retirement before speaking to reporters for about 45 minutes. We’ve gone over the details of his career and all of the numbers that will make up his Hall of Fame résumé, and this argument will go on for the next five years if not longer. But when I think back on the eight years I covered him, I’ll think most about his transformation from an icy loner to one of the most personable players in the clubhouse. When he first arrived in 2001, Mussina seemed a little overwhelmed by the number of reporters. He didn’t know many - if any - of us, so he put up a wall and made it very difficult to engage him in conversation. I remember one time during the Little League World Series, when Danny Almonte was all the rage, and I had been assigned a story asking players about their favorite Little League memories. Mussina is from a town just minutes from Williamsport, so he seemed like a natural for this story. But when I asked him the ... (link)