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Remembering the time Mike Mussina struck out 15 batters in the 1997 ALCS

Happy Birthday, Moose! We remember Mussina K'ing 15

Mike Mussina turns 47 today. The former Oriole and Yankee had a remarkable (and remarkably understated) big league career. He won 270 games, tallied a 3.68 ERA, won six Gold Gloves, received Cy Young votes eight times (including after his first full season and last) and retired in 2008 with an 82.7 WAR -- good for 24th all time among pitchers. That's better than Tom Glavine, Jim Palmer and Bob Gibson.

And on Oct. 11, 1997, Moose turned in one of the greatest ALCS performances in history. The right-hander struck out a then-LCS record 15 Cleveland Indians in seven innings -- a lineup that included Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez, David Justice and Matt Williams. They were a team that finished third in batting average and nearly last in strikeouts during the regular season.

Unfortunately, the Orioles would lose the game, 2-1, and fall in the series three games later. After the game, Mussina, a crossword puzzle king, gave a double-negative quote that SAT test creators would be jealous of:

"I never feel like I can go out there and throw the ball with my eyes closed and they're not going to hit it."

Mussina will be entering his third year on the Hall of Fame ballot in 2016. He received 24 percent of the vote in 2015.

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