Former American League Cy Young Award winner and World Series MVP Frank Viola will enter his fifth season as the pitching coach for the High Point Rockers. During his 15-year Major League career from 1982-96, the lefthander won 176 games and was named to three All-Star teams while leading the Minnesota Twins to the 1987 World Series Championship.

His work with the Rockers has been nothing short of amazing. Over the last five seasons, the Rockers have led the Atlantic League in ERA twice, posting a 3.74 mark in 2019 and a league-leading 4.34 ERA in 2023. Viola’s staff has led the Atlantic League in the lowest WHIP (2023, 2021) and fewest walks (2023, 2021).

A native of Long Island, Viola was a 16th round pick of the Kansas City Royals in the 1978 MLB Draft out of East Meadow High School but chose to attend St. John’s University. There, Viola teamed with future New York Met John Franco to lead the Red Storm to the 1980 College World Series in Omaha, Neb. The Johnnies opened the CWS with a Viola throwing a complete game four-hitter in a 6-1 win over Arizona and its star player, Terry Francona. But the Red Storm was eliminated following losses to Hawaii and Cal.

History, however, was made the following year, in 1981 during the NCAA Northeast Regional at Yale. In what legendary sportswriter and author Roger Angell called one of the greatest baseball games ever played, Viola beat Yale and its star pitcher, Ron Darling, 1-0 in 12 innings with Darling throwing a no-hitter through the first 11 frames.

During his three seasons at St. John’s, Viola compiled a 26-2 record including a 10-1 mark in 1980 and a 10-0 record in 1981. His 0.87 ERA in 1981 remains the third-best in SJU history. Viola was a first team All-American by Baseball America in 1981 and was a second round pick of the Twins in the 1981 MLB Draft, the No. 37 player selected overall.

Viola started his professional career in Orlando in the AA Southern League before moving to AAA Toledo in 1982 and making his Major League debut that same season. He became a fixture in the Twins rotation over the next seven seasons, posting a 17-10 record in 1987 as the Twins reached the World Series and defeated the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. Viola defeated Joe Magrane in Game 1, took a loss in Game 4 and earned the Game 7 victory with a 4-2 win over Danny Cox. Viola was named the World Series MVP as he posted a 2-1 record and allowed just eight earned runs over his 19.1 innings pitched while striking out 16.

In 1988, Viola earned the American League Cy Young Award, garnering 27 of the 28 first place votes to easily outdistance Oakland reliever Dennis Eckersley. Viola led the Majors with 24 wins (24-7 record) and a .774 winning percentage while his 2.64 ERA and 193 strikeouts each ranked third in the American League. He started and won the 1988 All-Star Game after building a 15-2 record leading into the break. Between May 22, 1987 and July 27, 1988, Viola won 19 consecutive games in the Twins’ home stadium, the Metrodome.

During his Twins career, Viola was twice named American League Pitcher of the Month and was Minnesota’s Pitcher of the Year in 1984, 1987 and 1988. He posted a 3-1 postseason pitching record in five starts with 35 strikeouts and just eight walks in 31.1 innings.

By the age of 28, Viola owned a World Series championship, a Series MVP award and a Cy Young Award.

Viola was traded to his hometown New York Mets on July 31, 1989 where he won 38 games over the next two seasons including a 20-12 mark with a 2.67 ERA in 1990 when he finished third in the National League Cy Young voting. He was a National League All-Star in both 1990 and 1991 before signing with Boston as free agent prior to the 1992 season. Viola won 24 games over the 1992-93 seasons but made just six starts in 1994 before undergoing Tommy John surgery in May.

He signed with Cincinnati in 1995 and rehabbed his elbow before returning to the Major Leagues in August. He finished that year with an 0-1 record in three starts and then joined the Toronto Blue Jays in 1996, ending his career after six starts and a 1-3 record. He retired in November 1996.

Following his retirement, Viola worked as a coach and broadcaster before settling as pitching coach of the Mets Class A rookie league team in Brooklyn in 2011. He moved to Class A Savannah in 2012-13 and was named the Coach of the Year in 2013. He spent the 2014-2017 seasons with the Mets’ Class AAA affiliate in Las Vegas. Viola instructed the Mets’ Class AA pitchers at Binghamton in 2018 before joining the Rockers in 2019.

His former pupils in the Mets system include Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndegaard and Steven Matz.

He and his wife Kathy have three children, Frankie, Brittany and Kaley. Brittany was a diver at the University of Miami and won the 2008 and 2011 NCAA platform diving championships and competing at the 2012 London Olympics. Kaley played volleyball at Winthrop College and has coached at Winthrop, Davidson College and Ithaca College. Frankie, a righthanded pitcher, was drafted by the Chicago White Sox and also played in the Toronto organization.