Frank Viola: Former Italian / American Long Island Born Mets Twenty Game Winner (1989-1991)

Frank John Viola Jr. known as "Sweet Music" was born on April 19th, 1960, to Frank a radio station controller & Helen Viola. Frank Jr. had one sister Nancy & a brother named John. The family lived in East Meadow, NY on Long Island. The local Italian / American boy made out good & lived his dram coming home to pitch in for his favorite team.

Viola said that his father would take him to see an average of ten Mets games a year. They would go to the Bronx for one game a year just to see that there was another team in town.

In 1969 he remembered attending a baseball clinic where the Mets Jerry Koosman advised the youngsters not to throw curveballs until they got older. He remembered that advice although he did not become a pitcher until his final high school years.

The six foot four, left hander went to East Meadow high school & became a local baseball star. 

St. John's University: Originally, he was planning on attending CW Post, which was a division II school, but he was soon offered a scholarship from St. Johns University. Viola then moved on to St. John's, where he was a teammate of another Italian American future Met; John Franco. Franco was already the teams star, another local boy from Brooklyn, & Viola was anxious to meet him when he arrived.

Viola soon became a St. Johns star pitcher too. He was actually drafted during his senior year, by the Kansas City Royals, but did not sign. In 1980 he pitched for Team USA in the Amateur World Series, coming in fourth place.

Prichers Duel vs Ron Darling:

St. John's Pitching Star: Frank Viola 1981

In 1981 he went up against Yale University & its star pitcher (future Met) Ron Darling, in a now classic pitcher’s duel. The two pitchers both tossed eleven shutout innings, before St. John’s Redmen won it in the 12th inning.

Viola would officially sign with the Minnesota Twins after being selected in the second round of the 1981 amateur draft.

MLB Debut: Viola debuted in 1982 with Minnesota but posted losing records in his first two seasons. He was 4-10 in his rookie year & then 7-15 the next year for the fifth place Twins, while allowing the most earned runs in American league (128). But in 1984 his whole career turned around.

"Sweet Music" Trivia: Viola would become known as “Sweet Music” in the Twin Cities, after a writer claimed it sounded like sweet at the Metro Dome, music when Viola pitched.  A fan soon hung a banner at the Dome & the name stuck. That banner is now part of the Minnesota Historical Society.

The potential for Viola was unlimited. His pitching coach former Brooklyn Dodger, Johnny Podres once compared him to Sandy Koufax. But early on he was too emotional & too hyper which was his only drawback. 

In 1984 he won 18 games going 18- 12 (4th most in the AL) posting a 3.21 ERA (10th best in the AL). 

He pitched 257 innings striking out 149 batters. He followed that up with another 18 win season (18-14) (3rd best in the AL) pitching 250 innings, striking out 135 batters posting a 4.09 ERA.

He would win 16 or more games five straight seasons, while pitching over 245 innings six straight times. In 1985, he went into the history books giving up Rod Carew’s 3000th hit.

By this time, he decided to use the easy-going demeanor of his teammate Bert Blyleven, the attitude adjustment along with his new pitch, the change up made him an elite pitcher. Viola would throw one of the best change ups of his era.

In 1987 he led the Twins staff going 17-10 (8th most wins in the AL) posting the league’s second-best ERA at 2.90. He struck out 197 batters (7th in the AL) pitching 251 innings (10th in the AL). That year Manager Jim Kelly & his Twins surprised everyone by winning the World Series.

1987 Post Season- ALCS: In the 1987 ALCS against the Detroit Tigers, Viola got the Game #1 start against Doyle Alexander. He allowed five runs over eight innings but got no decision as the Twins eventually won the game scoring four runs in the 8th inning. He returned to get the win in Game #4 at Detroit, although he only lasted five innings giving up three runs & four walks.

1987 World Series: Then Viola earned national attention as he starred in the World Series, against the St. Louis Cardinals. He would pitch in three games going 2-1 with 3.72 ERA in 19 innings pitched.

In Game #1 in Minnesota he rolled along to a 10-1 win, striking out five allowing just five hits over eight innings. He had a rough Game #4 taking the loss, after allowing five runs in 3.1 innings at Busch Stadium.

He was the Game #7 hero, pitching 8 innings allowing only two runs on six hits, striking out seven Cardinals in the wild Metro dome. 

The Twins took the lead in 6th inning on a Greg Gagne RBI single & topped off the 4-2 win on a Dan Gladden double in the 8th. Viola earned the World Series MVP honors. 

After the Championship: He followed up his MVP World Series performance by winning the 1988 A.L. Cy Young Award. Viola led the league in wins going 24-7 with a 2.46 ERA (2nd in the AL). He struck out 193 batters (3rd in the AL) walking only 54 in 255 innings pitched (6th in the AL) in 36 starts (3rd in the AL).

He threw seven complete games, for the fourth straight season and tossed a pair of shut outs. This season he made the first of three All Star appearances. 

In 1989 he fell off to an 8-12 record by late July. On the 1989 trade deadline he came home, as he was sent to the New York Mets in a blockbuster trade.

Blockbuster Trade; Viola arrived in exchange for pitchers; Rick Aguilera, David West, and Kevin Tapani. His arrival at Shea Stadium came with high expectations, as he joined a star studded staff of Dwight Gooden, Ron Darling, David Cone, Sid Fernandez & Bobby Ojeda.

Mets Debut: Viola debuted with the Mets on August 2nd in St. Louis & went out to beat the Cardinals 4-3, pitching eight innings allowing two runs on four hits.

In his second Mets start he gave up just a run to the Phillies in seven innings, but was shut out by Ken Howell, as he earned no decision.

On August 11th, he made his debut at Shea Stadium, he allowed just two runs to the Cardinals, but the Mets were shut out by Scott Terry & Ken Dayley resulting in a 3-0 loss.  

From there then took three straight losing decisions, getting beat by the Giants & Padres at home.

Three Hit Shut Out: On August 28th, he tossed a three-hit shutout in Los Angeles, out dueling Orel Hershiser & the Dodgers in a 1-0 classic. The Mets Howard Johnson drove in the game's only run.

On September 2nd, the NL Champion Giants beat him for five runs, led by a three run HR from Matt Williams. He then pitched seven innings vs. the Cardinals allowing one run to earn his 11th win of the year, his third as a Met. 

The Mets were just 3.5 games back, but they lost seven of their next eleven games & never recovered as they finished second to the Cubs (87-75).

That month Viola went 3-2 closing out the season with a 6-2, complete game win over the Pirates in Pittsburgh.

Viola himself went 5-5 since coming to the Mets, adjusting to the changes. No one on the Mets staff had more than 14 wins. 

Overall, on the season Viola was 13-17 with a career high 211 strikeouts. For the Mets he was 5-5 with a 3.38 ERA in 12 starts. He struck out 73 & walked 27in 85.1 innings.

1990: This year, Viola would have the great season, he was brought to New York to have. He started out with a 3-0 win at Shea Stadium, over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the second game of the season. 

On April 16th, he shut out the Cubs on four hits thru six innings earning his second win. In his third start he pitched into the 9th inning, getting relieved for the final out as he went on to a 5-4 win & his third victory. In his first three starts he struck out eight batters each time.

On April 27th, he shut out the Astros for five innings, then the Mets bullpen of Wally Whitehurst & John Franco shut them out the rest of the way as the Mets beat Mark Portugal 1-0 in Houston, with Mark Carreon's HR being the difference.

Two Shut Outs: On May 2nd, he threw a six-hit complete game shutout & struck out a season high 11 batters, in a 5-0 Mets win over the eventual World Champion Cincinnati Reds. His ERA was still under ne at 0.99. After another win over Houston, at Shea where he allowed just a run in 6.1 innings of work, he tossed his second shutout of the month. On May 12th, he four hit the LA Dodgers, striking out seven to earn his seventh straight win to get to 7-0 with a 0.87 ERA.

From April 21st to May 18th, Viola had allowed just one earned run, in thirty innings of work.

On May 18th, the Padres got him for six runs including HRs to Gary Templeton & Joe Carter, as he took his first loss of the season. But after taking his first two losses, he won his first two starts of June. On June 1st he threw eight shut out innings at Philadelphia, then allowed just one run to Montreal at Shea Stadium as he earned his ninth win of the year.

On June 16th, Viola had his worst game of 1990 as he gave up seven runs on ten hits in 5.1 innings of work to the Pirates in Pittsburgh. He came back in his next start to win his tenth game of the year reaching double figures in victories for the seventh straight season.

On June 27th he threw the first of back-to-back complete game wins, the first was a 5-2 win at St. Louis. On July 3rd, Viola tossed his third shutout of the season, a five hitter, as the Mets romped Houston 12-0 at Shea Stadium. In the past three-game stretch he allowed just three earned runs over 26 innings.

1990 All Star: At the All Star break he was 13-4 with a 2.39 ERA, he was elected to the NL All Star team, but the Dodgers' Bob Welch was named the starting pitcher. Viola pitched a scoreless 5th inning in the NL's 2-0 shout out, in the game played at Wrigley Field in Chicago. 

The Mets were in first place by the All-Star break but had a hard time keeping up with the
Pittsburgh Pirates. Two five game losing streaks in September did them in, as they finished second four games behind Pittsburgh although they won 91 games. No one realized it at the time, but it was the last winning season the Mets would have until 1997.

After the break Viola struggled going 7-8, with two separate three game losing streaks, although his ERA never reached higher than 2.79. On August 31st, he threw another complete game, with a 4-3 win over the Giants at Shea. 

On September 5th in an important game with the first place Pirates in Pittsburgh, Viola pitched eight shutout innings, matching zeroes with Zane Smith. The Pirates won it with a walk off single from Barry Bonds off John Franco. The win gave the Pirates a 2.5 game lead.

In his next start he gave up just a run in eight innings of work, in a 10-1 win over the Cardinals at Shea. On September 15th he struck out nine Phillies, allowing a pair of runs in a 4-2 win at Shea Stadium for his 19th win of the year.

From there he went on a three-game losing streak, not able to get to the magic twenty-win mark. On September 29th he didn't allow an earned run, but Mets errors led to a 3-2 loss to the Cubs. 

20th Win: Finally, on the final day of the season, he beat the Pirates in Pittsburgh for his twentieth win of the year. In seven innings of work, he gave up a two run HR to Carmello Martinez, but the Mets scored six runs for him in the 6-3 win.

Viola became the fifth Mets pitcher in team history to win twenty games, a feat that would not be accomplished again until 22 years layer in 2012, when R.A. Dickey won his twentieth.

Overall Viola had a great year leading the Mets staff in most categories, winning twenty games going 20-12 (second most wins in the league). He led the league in starts (35) as well as innings pitched (249). 

He came in third place for the Cy Young Award, as the Mets finished second again even though they won 91 games, four games behind the Pittsburgh Pirates.

That season Dwight Gooden had won 19 games & David Cone won 14 games for the strong staff.

1991: The year started out great for everyone, the Mets were in contention early on, Viola did not earn the decision in his first start, a 2-1 victory at Shea over Jason Grimsley & the Phillies. He then won his next three start, first pitching a complete game over the Expos allowing just a run. On April 20th he allowed just a run in eight innings to the Expos in Montreal then on April 26th he shut out the Pirates in a 2-0 win at Shea Stadium. At the end of April, he was 3-0 with 0.86 ERA.

On May 17th he pitched a complete game victory over the Dodgers, beating Mike Morgan 4-2. On May 27th he allowed one run in 7.1 innings of work at Wrigley Field in a 3-1 Mets win. Viola got off to a 6-2 start by the end of May as his ERA was just 2.34. 

On June 26th he began a personal four game win streak, beating the Expos twice, then holding the Phillies to a run in 8.2 innings of work for his tenth win of the year. It was his eighth straight season of double figures in wins. 

1991 All Star: At the All Star break he was 11-5 with a 2.78 ERA. He made the last of his three All Star appearances, pitching the 5th inning of the 4-2 NL loss at Toronto's Sky Dome. After walking Joe Carter, he retired Wade Boggs, Cal Ripken Jr. & Cecil Fielder.

After the break, he beat the Padres to earn his 11th win. He won eleven of his first sixteen decisions posting a 2.34 ERA. 

After that everything fell apart, Viola would lose ten of last twelve decisons through the end of the season. He allowed four earned runs or more in nine of his last 16 starts. The Mets would end up in fifth place losing 91 games, their worst showing in nine seasons. In September they fired Bud Harrelson as manger & finished off the year with Mike Cubbage at the helm.

Viola allowed the most hits (259) runs (112) & HRs (25) on the staff. He ended the season at 13-15,
(second most losses in the NL) giving up the most hits by any NL pitcher, while posting a 3.97 ERA. He struck out 132 batters & walked 54 in 231.1 innings of work. He also gave up 25 HRs (second most in the NL).

After the season, he was granted free agency and left New York to sign with the Boston Red Sox. 

Mets Career: In his Mets career he went 39-32 over parts of three seasons, he posted a 3.31 ERA with 387 strikeouts in 82 games pitched.

Post Mets Career: In Boston in 1992, he won 13 games (13-11) with a 3.44 ERA. He won eleven games the next year (11-8) with a 3.14 ERA, but never regained his Cy Young form.

In Spring Training 1993 he threw a combined no hitter with Cory Bailey against the Philadelphia Phillies. He then had arm trouble which led to Tommy John surgery in 1993. He returned to have two brief stints in Cincinnati with the Reds in 1995, pitching three games at the major league level. In 1996 he signed with the Toronto Blue Jays, going 1-3 in six starts before retiring at age 36 in 1996. 

Career Stats: Viola pitched in 15 seasons, making three All Star teams, won an AL Cy Young Award & made one post season.

He made 420 starts (111th all time), going 176-150 (172nd most wins all time) with a 3.73 ERA. He pitched 2836 innings (165th all time), with 1844 strikeouts (108th all time). He tossed 16 shut outs with 74 complete games. In his career he allowed 2827 hits  with 864 walks (185th all time) & 294 HRs (64th all time).

Viola with Noah Syndergaard
at 2014 Mets Spring Training

Retirement & Coaching: Viola first coached baseball in Orlando Florida. He also coached his daughters at schools in East Meadow, Long Island. 

In 2009 he worked at the Cleveland Indians Spring Training camp & did some broadcasting for the Boston Red Sox on NESN.

In 2011 he was back n the Mets organization, as pitching coach for the Brooklyn Cyclones. He spent 2012-2013 with the Mets affiliate, Savannah Sand Gnats.

In 2013 he was promoted to the AAA level as pitching coach for Las Vegas & joined the Mets at Spring Training. He was a tutor to the Mets top minor league prospect Noah Syndergaard as well as Jacob deGrom, who would be the 2014, NL Rookie of the Year & two-time Cy Young winner.

Heart Surgery: During a medical exam a heart problem was detected that required surgery. On April 1st, Viola underwent successful heart surgery.

Quotes- Mets GM Sandy Alderson: "I did talk to Frank yesterday, He certainly wants to be back, but I think we'll let the doctors dictate exactly when he comes back. When he's ready and he's able, I'm sure he'll be out there, but we want to make sure he's fully recovered from this surgery first."

Viola began to feel better & yearned to get back to work coaching at Las Vegas. Viola returned to work in June, coaching his fine young pitching staff consisting of future stars  Noah Syndergaard & Jeurys Familia. 

Viola was with the Mets at Spring Training 2015 & returned as the Las Vegas 51's pitching coach. 

That year he saw Syndergaard & the newest Mets star pitching prospect; Steven Matz both break into the Major Leagues & get to a World Series.

Quotes- Frank Viola: "I enjoy things a heck of a lot more than I did before. And believe it or not -- my wife might argue this one -- but I have a lot more optimism in my life than I did before. I just realized how fortunate I was, and how much I really love doing what I'm doing. When you know you're going through a life and death thing and your first thought is, 'God, I'm going to miss these kids,' I know I'm doing something because I love doing it."

As a projection for the 2016 season, Viola told WFAN Radio host, Steve Somers "As long as our pitching staff remains healthy, and we get a healthy Zack Wheeler back sometime in 2016, it is going to be so much fun to watch these kids grow up. This could be — and I was there in ’69 when the Mets put a pretty good rotation together with (Tom) Seaver and (Jerry) Koosman and (Jon) Matlack and (Gary) Gentry and all that for the World Series." 

It did not come to pass. After many changes in the Mets system following the 2017 season, Viola swapped spots with Glenn Abbot as pitching coach. Viola was pitching coach at AA Binghamton in 2018.

Post Mets Organization Career: In 2019 he parted ways with the Mets organization & became pitching coach in an Independent League in North Carolina. 

Viola is very outspoken & against many of the experimental new rules used in the Atlantic League baseball.  He felt it is unfair for the young players to have to subjected to rules that will never be implemented in the major leagues, due to the Players Union.

Ejected for Arguing with Robot Umpire: In 2019, Viola became the first person to ever get ejected for arguing with a robot umpire, which was being worn by the human umpire behind home plate. 

Since 2020 he has been a pitching coach for the High Point Rockers i the Atlantic Independant League.

Viola Family: Frank & his wife Kathy (Daltas) have been married since 1983, together they have three children.

Brittany Viola: Their daughter Brittany, is a pro diver in Miami. She was a two-time NCAA Champion & was a member of the 2012 USA Olympic Team. In 2009 she won second place in diving at the US Grand Prix in Ft. Lauderdale.

In 2011 Viola captured the senior women's platform championship in Los Angeles. In 2014 she gave Frank his first grandchild.

Kelly Viola: Their other daughter Kelly played volleyball at Winthrop University & is now a college volleyball coach.

Frank Viola III: Frank's son, Frank Viola III, started pitching in the Chicago White Sox organization in 2004, but Tommy John surgery set back his career.

One day sitting around with his Dad & other Twins legends, Tony Oliva, Rod Carew & Kent Hrbek they were talking about how hard it was to hit knuckle baller Hoyt Wilhelm. Oliva suggested Viola III learn to throw one. 

Viola III worked on the knuckle ball with the help of R.A. Dickey & Tim Wakefield whom he met through Sox broadcaster, Hawk Harrelson. to revive his career. 

In 2014 he returned to pitch in the Toronto organization but was released in late July.

 In 2015 he signed with the Chicago White Sox organization then retired at the end of the year.