Frank Viola

Frank John Viola (born April 19 1960 in Hempstead, New York) is a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Minnesota Twins (1982-89), New York Mets (1989-91), Boston Red Sox (1992-94), Cincinnati Reds (1995) and Toronto Blue Jays (1996). He batted and threw left-handed, and was nicknamed "Sweet Music" – an unusual nickname he picked up after a Minnesota fan began displaying a banner bearing the phrase in the outfield's upper deck whenever Viola pitched.

Biography

Viola attended St. John's University before being drafted in the 2nd round of the 1981 amateur draft by the Twins. Oddly, his first year in the majors was only one year after that, on June 6 1982.

Related Topics:
St. John's University - 1981 - June 6 - 1982

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The most prominent portion of his career came in Minnesota, where he picked up 112 of his 176 career wins. His overall career stats are impressive, with a 3.73 ERA, 176-150 record, 74 complete games, and 16 shutouts in 421 games. His most impressive career achievement is his Cy Young Award in 1988.

Related Topics:
Minnesota - ERA - Complete game - Shutout - Cy Young Award - 1988

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His first two years in the majors were not horrible, but playing with some bad Twins teams, his statistics were pretty dissapointing. In the 1982 and 1983 seasons combined, he went 11-25 with a 5.37 ERA. However, after those two seasons, his career would take off.

Related Topics:
Statistics - 1982 - 1983

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Averaging 229 innings pitched through his career, he was a true workhorse, finishing 74 of the 420 games he started. His best year, which was also his last full year with the Twins, most likely came in 1988 when he won 24 games, losing only 7 and completing 7 games, 2 for shutouts. That year, he had an impressive 255 innings pitched and gave up only 20 home runs, and 54 walks. Viola led the league in wins that year, and his ERA was a career-low 2.64. He would go on to win the AL Cy Young Award that year, beating out 2nd place Dennis Eckersley.

Related Topics:
Innings pitched - 1988 - Walks - AL - Dennis Eckersley

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During the trade deadline in July 1989, 2 years after Viola had led the Twins to a World Series in 1987, they traded him to the Mets for a number of top players, including Rick Aguilera, David West, and Kevin Tapani. Leaving his lifelong team was tough, but Viola would go on to have more good years in New York and Boston.

Related Topics:
Trade deadline - July - 1989 - World Series in 1987 - Rick Aguilera - David West - Kevin Tapani - New York - Boston

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In 1990, he would have another great season finishing 3rd in the Cy Young voting. That year it went to Doug Drabek. He was 20-12 that year, with a 2.67 ERA in 35 starts. Another 3 shutouts were tacked on to his statistics that year.

Related Topics:
1990 - Doug Drabek

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After making his third all-star team in 1991, he signed with the Red Sox in January of 1992. He would have a few decent seasons with them, and then finished his career with the Reds and then the Blue Jays ending his career on May 28 1996. He finished his career with 1844 strikeouts.

Related Topics:
1991 - January - 1992 - May 28 - 1996 - Strikeout

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