BALTIMORE -- There's been nothing simple about the relationship between Mike Mussina and the Orioles fan base ever since he left for the Yankees in the months leading up to the 2001 season.

So much so that after it was announced in January that the Moose, as he’s so affectionally called, finally cracked the Hall-of-Fame’s 75-percent floor in his sixth year of eligibility, he ultimately decided to join a small cast of characters and enter without a logo on his plaque.

“One got my career started. One put me on a huge stage for a lot of years,” Mussina said Sunday after throwing the ceremonial first pitch before Baltimore’s series-finale with Cleveland. “I wouldn’t be going to Cooperstown without either one of them.”

There were no audible boos for Mussina after he delivered a toss to Orioles manager Brandon Hyde. That probably shouldn’t be a surprise. It’s been nearly two decades since Mussina made the decision to remain in the American League East but turn in the black and orange for the pinstripes.

“I hope people are OK with it,” Mussina said. “It was a decision that we made, and I think it was a good decision for my baseball career at the time.”

Mussina was around Baltimore for it all: the opening of Camden Yards in 1992, Cal Ripken Jr.’s record-breaking ironman game -- and later his 3,000th hit -- Eddie Murray’s 500th home run, back-to-back AL Championship Series runs from 1996-97.

“Man, I’m old,” he quipped.

It would be hard to say he had his best years in Baltimore because, well, he had very few poor years in his 18-year career. But it was in Baltimore where he amassed five seasons as a top-five Cy Young vote-getter, four consecutive Gold Gloves and all five of his All-Star selections.

“The Baltimore Orioles will always be the first team that gave me a chance and put me out there and said, ‘Kid go out there and do what you can do,’” he recalled. “And I went out there for 10 years and I think I did a lot of good things and did my job the best I could, and now they bring me back and throw out the first pitch. I hope the organization appreciates everything I was able to do as much as I appreciated them.”

Regardless of how it all unfolded, Mussina took the field Sunday with much -- if there was still any -- bad blood gone. Now doubtful he’ll ever rejoin professional baseball as a coach or in a front office role, he looks back on his time with the Orioles with great fondness. After all, they committed to taking a chance on him twice, drafting him out of high school in 1987, when he elected to go to college, and then again three years later in the first round.

And now, 29 years after hearing his name called, the Moose is going to the Hall.

“Once I get on the stage and you have to speak and you’re being presented with the plaque and all these current Hall-of-Famers sitting behind you, I think that’s when it’s really going to set in that this is the Mount Everest of baseball, and I get to be part of it,” Mussina said.

Lucas nearing return
Out since June 14 with a right shoulder strain, reliever Josh Lucas could be nearing a return to the Orioles bullpen.

Hyde said Sunday that Lucas, who signed as a free agent in the offseason, was feeling good after throwing a side session Saturday, and his return is imminent. Lucas last pitched June 13, and owns a 5.74 ERA across 15 2/3 innings this season.

“We are monitoring it day to day, but he should be close to getting activated here at some point,” Hyde said.

Trumbo showcasing leadership amid tough season
It’s not clear when -- if ever -- Mark Trumbo may play this season, but the veteran has been leaving his mark on the 2019 Orioles off the field as he rehabs in Baltimore after a setback in his recovery from Sept. 2018 right knee surgery.

“I give that guy so much credit. I was talking to [assistant hitting coach] Howie Clark about it yesterday. A lot of times those guys aren’t in the dugout for nine innings,” Hyde said. “In this kind of situation where we are not playing real well -- he can’t even play -- and he’s in the dugout talking to our players right in the middle. He talks to [Trey] Mancini all the time. He talks to our young players. I love having him around, I think he’s an absolute pro, and he’s in it always for the right reasons. Not knowing him going into this year, so impressed with him.”