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Frank Viola

Frank Viola
Ultimate Mets Database popularity ranking: 189 of 1218 players
Viola
Frank John Viola
Born: April 19, 1960 at Hempstead, N.Y.
Throws: Left Bats: Left
Height: 6.04 Weight: 209

Frank Viola was the most popular Ultimate Mets Database daily lookup on January 29, 2008, January 30, 2008, January 31, 2008, March 29, 2023, April 2, 2023, and April 10, 2023.

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First Mets game: August 2, 1989
Last Mets game: October 4, 1991

Share your memories of Frank Viola

HERE IS WHAT OTHER METS FANS HAVE TO SAY:

Mike Welch
This guy was a fantastic pitcher in his prime. His "circle change" was among the most devastating pitches in baseball. Setup by a fastball that was average at best, the "circle change" left many a hitter bewildered. The Mets were lucky to have Viola during his prime, but gave up far too much to get him. Viola came on board at the 1989 season, right at the trading deadline, in a trade the would have best not been made. The Mets gave up the jewels of their farm system (Kevin Tapani, David West and others) to obtain Viola, whose break even record that year did not help the Mets overcome the Pirates in the pennant race. The players the Mets surrendered for Viola went on the propel Tom Kelly's Twins to a world championship.

Mr. Sparkle
One of the biggest crybabies in Mets history. He had one great season and one dreadful one. He tried blaming the losses on the defense behind him. It seemed like every loss was someone else's fault but his. Nice team attitude, Frank. Go eat a marshmallow.

goreking
January 16, 2001
Whadda wimp! He could pitch, no doubt there, but, he was a jerk. I wanted to pull that chessy 'stach down and tie it around his flabby chest! Whadda jerk!

Logan Swanson
May 17, 2001
One of the most irrelevant 20 win seasons in baseball history. Viola was like a hitter who pops 40 home runs, all with his team ahead 10 to nothing. This guy was a bust.

Paul
October 14, 2001
I'm probably pretty biased because Frankie is one of my all-time favorites in the game. He was nothing but super when he was healthy. Consistent as heck, gave you innings, pretty much kept his team in every game he pitched, isn't that what you want from a big league starting pitcher? Those who say he couldn't win the big one, OK with the Mets you might have a legitimate gripe, but he wasn't the only one you know. The guy takes the ball once every five days. What's going on the other four days? I think in 1990 he pitched great in all but a few games. Without him the Mets probably wouldn't have been in the race anyway.

Dunedin Dave
November 19, 2001
I remember a game F.V. pitched for the '92 Red Sox. He 1-hit Toronto, who, as you might recall, won the World Series that year. Devon White broke up his no-no with a single in the 9th & the Sox won 1-0. A tough lefty is a valuable commodity & he was a good one.

Larry Burns
June 5, 2002
Talk about flaming out! He came here as a NY boy as the returning hero. I remember he said his favorite restaurant was Borelli's in East Meadow on Hempstead Turnpike. That place has been an institution for generations now. He was a borderline Hall of Famer with the Twins and he started off like he was not gonna miss a beat in NY. Then he had his 2nd year. He was not good. He complicated matters by blaming all his fellow players---real leadership there. Then it got so bad we had to get rid of him. What a whiney pain in the ass.

Roger DeWitt
July 23, 2002
I met Frank Viola and his son Frankie (KC Royals) on 7/22/02 at the Disney Sports Complex where we were guests of Randy Leek LHP AA Dodgers vs Orlando Rays. It was a true pleasure listening to Frank discussing pitching strategy about the starter (Randy) with his dad Rick. We have known Randy for several years and know he is a fine judge of character and he certainly respects Frank. I was impressed with the CY award winner during this game and will often remember the evening. He told me he now coaches high school ball in Orlando and follows UCF and the Rays. Good luck to Frank and to Frankie on his emerging career with KC.

VIBaseball
April 29, 2005
It's really appalling that Frankie was the last Met to have a 20-win season. I looked back to see what the best win totals have been since then, and even during the good years, they've not been inspiring:

Leiter '98: 17 Reed '98: 16 Leiter '00: 16 Trachsel '02: 16 B. Jones '97: 15 several (including Mark Clark!) with 14

The Twins trade was clearly worst because of Aguilera. I remember the Mets thought his arm couldn't be resilient enough as a closer. Tapani won 75 games as a Twin, but really only had a couple of big years. Of course, one was for the '91 champs.

Jonathan Stern
April 30, 2005
Wow! You're right! Frankie V. in 1990 had the Mets' last 20-game season. Incredible.

I remember enjoying most of 1990 because of Frankie V., who, along with John Franco formed a great hometown duo. In that year's All-Star Game, a funny moment occurred during the pre-game intros. Since the Mets were still regarded as the "bad guys" of baseball, Straw was booed. Next to him was Viola, a non-1986er, and HE was booed! He looked surprised, then smiled back at the fans as only a New Yawker could. Then Franco, the newest Met of the three, heard it from the fans and he made a silly face at them as he doffed his cap, as if to say, "Don't be too happy to see me, either."

But, far from still being the bad guys, the Mets were rotting as an organization even then. Other than Viola and Franco, the team looked lifeless. You wondered how they had such a good record. Then Buddy turned to Julio Valera and the rest was infamy. As for Viola, he could not get over being surrounded by out-of-position plumbers and probably did not endear himself to his teammates when he lashed out at them in the press.

I wonder to what extent playing for the Buddy Ball Mets wrecked Frankie V.'s career. He never again regained his form as a top-flight pitching ace after leaving New York.

Ed K
August 15, 2005
I think some of the nastier entries of Frank Viola are not justified. Of course, I was a bit distracted in 1990 as my father passed away and so I did not follow the Mets as closely as I normally did and did not catch all the alleged excuses. But I do recall a couple things.

First, they gave up a lot for him at the 1989 trading deadline but most Mets fans and I thought it was a calculated risk worth taking. The Mets were falling out of the 1989 race and after the trade they stayed in it about another month. And in 1990, they would not have been in first place September first without him.

Second, it is not fair to blame Viola for the 1990 fadeout. He pitched 8 times from August 31 to the end. In the first four of those, he won three, and had a no decision after shutting out the Pirates 8 innings in the other. Then he lost three times before winning the last game of the season to get his 20th victory. But he pitched badly in only one of those three games and the Mets had already fallen out of first place before those three games.

The real culprit in the rotation that September was Sid Fernandez who did not win in all of Septemeber. Cone had a 4-3 record in the stretch like Viola. Gooden was the unsung hero, not losing all September until the next-to-last game. if he had won that game, the Mets would have had two twenty game winners for the season.

Bottom line: If the Mets had held on to 1st place in 1990, I doubt there would be such negative comments posted here. Nor do I blame Viola for leaving the Mets after 1991. It was pretty clear that the team was falling badly by then. It was not a Mike Hampton situation.

Bonbolito
March 31, 2007
I remember when the Mets got him reading an article that said that the year the Twins won it all Viola had to back out of a friend's wedding which took place during the playoffs/ series. Maybe I'm weird, but it kind of rubbed me the wrong way. Kind of like you're jinxing yourself by believing that you're not going to be in the playoffs no matter who your team is. After reading that story I wasn't all that surprised that he didn't succeed here.

Kevin C. Delahanty MD
March 26, 2014
Frank is about to undergo open heart surgery. Good luck, Sir. Speedy recovery!








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