1960
Born April 19, 1960
Hempstead, NY, USA
Frank Viola Marquee
b. April 19, 1960 · Minnesota Twins 1982–1989, New York Mets 1989–1991, Boston Red Sox 1992–1994, Cincinnati Reds 1995, Toronto Blue Jays 1996
He won the first and seventh games of the 1987 World Series for Minnesota, which had won 85 games in the regular season and the title anyway, and was the Series' most valuable player. The following season he went 24-7 with a 2.64 earned run average and won the Cy Young Award.
Fifteen seasons gave him 176 wins against 150, a 3.73 earned run average, 2,836 innings and 1,844 strikeouts, with three All-Star selections. Minnesota traded him to the Mets in July 1989 for five pitchers, among them Rick Aguilera and Kevin Tapani, both of whom were on the Twins club that won the 1991 World Series.
He was from Long Island, went to St. John's, and was called Sweet Music. He won 20 games for the Mets in 1990. Elbow reconstruction at thirty-five effectively ended it. The 2002 ballot gave him two votes of 472.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 3 | 1988, 1990, 1991 |
| Pitcher of the Month | 2 | 1987, 1988 |
| The Sporting News All-Star | 2 | 1988, 1990 |
| Babe Ruth Award | 1 | 1987 |
| Cy Young Award | 1 | 1988 |
| Player of the Week | 1 | 1989 |
| The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year | 1 | 1988 |
| World Series MVP | 1 | 1987 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | MIN | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1983 | MIN | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1984 | MIN | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1985 | MIN | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1986 | MIN | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1987 | MIN | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1988 | MIN | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1989 | MIN/NYM | 36 | 23 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | .130 |
| 1990 | NYM | 35 | 85 | 4 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 0 | .153 |
| 1991 | NYM | 35 | 71 | 2 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 0 | .127 |
| 1992 | BOS | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1993 | BOS | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1994 | BOS | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1995 | CIN | 3 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .167 |
| 1996 | TOR | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Career | — | 421 | 185 | 8 | 26 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 41 | 0 | .141 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | MIN | 4 | 10 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 126.0 | 152 | 73 | 38 | 84 | 5.21 |
| 1983 | MIN | 7 | 15 | 35 | 34 | 0 | 210.0 | 242 | 128 | 92 | 127 | 5.49 |
| 1984 | MIN | 18 | 12 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 257.2 | 225 | 92 | 73 | 149 | 3.21 |
| 1985 | MIN | 18 | 14 | 36 | 36 | 0 | 250.2 | 262 | 114 | 68 | 135 | 4.09 |
| 1986 | MIN | 16 | 13 | 37 | 37 | 0 | 245.2 | 257 | 123 | 83 | 191 | 4.51 |
| 1987 | MIN | 17 | 10 | 36 | 36 | 0 | 251.2 | 230 | 81 | 66 | 197 | 2.90 |
| 1988 | MIN | 24 | 7 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 255.1 | 236 | 75 | 54 | 193 | 2.64 |
| 1989 | MIN/NYM | 13 | 17 | 36 | 36 | 0 | 261.0 | 246 | 106 | 74 | 211 | 3.66 |
| 1990 | NYM | 20 | 12 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 249.2 | 227 | 74 | 60 | 182 | 2.67 |
| 1991 | NYM | 13 | 15 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 231.1 | 259 | 102 | 54 | 132 | 3.97 |
| 1992 | BOS | 13 | 12 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 238.0 | 214 | 91 | 89 | 121 | 3.44 |
| 1993 | BOS | 11 | 8 | 29 | 29 | 0 | 183.2 | 180 | 64 | 72 | 91 | 3.14 |
| 1994 | BOS | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 31.0 | 34 | 16 | 17 | 9 | 4.65 |
| 1995 | CIN | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 14.1 | 20 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 6.28 |
| 1996 | TOR | 1 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 30.1 | 43 | 26 | 21 | 18 | 7.71 |
| Career | — | 176 | 150 | 421 | 420 | 0 | 2836.1 | 2827 | 1175 | 864 | 1844 | 3.73 |
On this day & linked events
1982
Major-league debut: Frank Viola
Frank Viola made a major-league debut on June 6, 1982.
1996
Final major-league game: Frank Viola
Frank Viola played a final major-league game on May 28, 1996.
Image: White House Photographic Office, public domain