Born: April 19, 1960 in East Meadow NY
Married: Kathy Daltas on December 11, 1983
Has three children: Frank III, Brittany, Kaley
Has four grandchildren: Micah, Kyla, Theodore, Daniel
Frank grew up in East Meadow, NY playing many sports along with baseball. He was offered a scholarship to attend St. Johns University where he compiled a record of 26-2 with a 1.67 ERA… on May 21, 1981 pitched in what is known as the greatest college game ever playedagainst Yale’s Ron Darling, which was written about in “The Web of the Game” by Roger Angell. He was drafted that year by the Minnesota Twins in the second round.
Frank quickly moved into the big leagues and on June 6, 1982 pitched his first game against the Baltimore Orioles and Dennis Martinez . He became a permanent part of the starting rotation for the next 7 years. While in Minnesota he was dubbed “Sweet Music Viola” and led the Twins to their first World Series victory in 1987 and was name the World Series MVP. The following year in 1988 he compiled a 24-7 record and was named the American League Cy Young Award winner. He was named the starting pitcher in the 1988 All Star game and was the winning pitcher of record in that game.
Traded to the New York Mets on July 31, 1989 for five players, Viola went on to pitch 3 years in his home town. He was named to two All Star Teams (1990, 1991) and had a 20-12 record in 1990.
Frank signed as a free agent with the Boston Red Sox in 1992 and went on to pitch two plus seasons before an almost career ending injury that required Tommy John Surgery in 1994. He came back to pitch bits and pieces of 1995/96 with the Cincinnati Reds and Toronto Blue Jays before retiring in 1996 with a 176-150 record, 3.73 ERA, and 47 WAR.
Frank went on to do Radio and Television for ESPN. He was the Head Baseball Coach at Lake Highland Preparatory School for five years and led them to compete in their first State Championship game in 2003. He went on to become the pitching coach for the New York Mets in their Minor Leagues for 8 years. In 2013, The Savannah Sand Gnatsteam won the Southern League Championship. He helped developmany pitchers throughout the Mets Minor League system including: Jacob deGrom, Noah Synderguaard, Steven Matz, Michael Fulmer, Seth Lugo.
Frank and his wife Kathy, a horse trainer, currently reside in North Carolina and Florida. His children all competed in sports: son Frank III played in the MiLB for 5 years, daughter Brittany was a 2012 Olympian in the sport of diving, and daughter Kaley was an NCAA Division I Volleyball player for Winthrop University. He is currently the Pitching Coach for the High Point Rockers of North Carolina who are a part of Independent Baseball League. He keeps himself busy coaching, doing baseball camps & speaking engagements, playing golf, and traveling to visiting his children and grandchildren.
