Frank J. Viola, Jr.

Professional Baseball Player from 1982-1996 -- Better known as Sweet Music 🎵

[This Day in Mets History @NYMhistory]

8/28/1989 Frank Viola and Orel Hershiser face off in the first matchup of reigning Cy Young Award winners. Viola bests Hershiser with a complete-game three-hit shutout in a 1-0 victory at Dodger Stadium.
@FrankViola16

[The Twins Almanac @TwinsAlmanac]

Rod Carew got his 3,000th hit off @FrankViola16 on this date in 1985.

Kent Hrbek was there at first base to shake Carew's hand. Color commentator Harmon Killebrew got a little choked up on the telecast.

Killebrew interviewed Carew on the field after the game.

[This Day in Mets History @NYMhistory]

7/31/1989 The Mets receive Frank Viola in a trade with the Twins. In two and a half seasons in New York, Viola posted a 3.31 ERA and was named to two All-Star teams.
@FrankViola16

[The Twins Almanac @TwinsAlmanac]

The #MNTwins traded 1987 World Series MVP and reigning Cy Young winner @FrankViola16 to the @Mets for five pitchers, including Kevin Tapani and Rick Aguilera on this date in 1989.

Fun Fact: Tapani led the 1991 Twins with a 6.8 WAR (@Baseball_Ref), while Aggie saved 42 games.

[Andy Hall @AndyHallRadio]

Can’t believe this was 10 years ago…meeting a childhood hero - fellow southpaw, 1987 World Series MVP, 1988 Cy Young Award winner and all-around good guy - former @Twins pitcher @FrankViola16 ⚾️

[The Twins Almanac @TwinsAlmanac]

New Ulm native Terry Steinbach was All-Star Game MVP on this date in 1988.

After being maligned by the press as an unworthy All-Star, the Golden Gophers all-time great drove in the American League’s only runs with a homer and sac fly for a 2-1 win at Cincinnati��s Riverfront Stadium. The runner who scored on Steinbach’s sac fly was @DaveWinfieldHOF, meaning that all the AL’s runs were scored and driven in by Minnesota natives.

Steinbach had missed most of the month of May and was batting just .217 with five home runs and 19 RBI at the break (with his fifth home run coming in the last game before the break). He was, nevertheless, the leading vote-getter for AL starting catcher.

The AL’s only other catcher in the game was another Minnesota high school graduate: Tim Laudner, named to the team by manager Tom Kelly (who was at the helm by virtue of the Twins being the 1987 league champions). Laudner doubled in his only at-bat (off 1989 NL Cy Young Award winner Mark Davis) and caught the final four innings.

@FrankViola16 started the game, retiring all six batters he faced.

[The Twins Almanac @TwinsAlmanac]

Former teammates @BertBlyleven28 and @FrankViola16 dueled on this date in 1989, both going all nine innings in a 5-2 Angels win in Anaheim.

The #MNTwins’ only runs came on Tim Laudner‘s second-to-last home run, driving in Greg Gagne. Chili Davis scored two runs for the Angels.

[Frank J. Viola, Jr. @FrankViola16]

@nature_viewss B

[Z Note @MandarinGobi]

@BBGreatMoments When the Twins traded Frank Viola in 89' after 87' World Series .. I understand that without that trade we don't win in 91' (Aguilera and Tampani) were crucial pitchers.. but at 11 years old ..I cried.. Hand to my heart ❤️ @FrankViola16 hope you're doing well

[Frank J. Viola, Jr. @FrankViola16]

Why did Fox shoot the ball with the lead??

[High Point Rockers @RockersBaseball]

Big congratulations to Fin Del Bonta-Smith and Zach Vennaro on having their contracts purchased!

Fin Del Bonta-Smith has had his contract purchased by the Saraperos de Saltillo, while Zach Vennaro’s contract has been purchased by the Minnesota Twins organization.

Best of luck🔥

[Alexie C Rivera @RedPillLaredo]

I’m going to say this as calmly as possible:

Watching Caitlin Clark in the WNBA has become genuinely hard to stomach.

Not because she struggles sometimes. Not because she makes mistakes. Not because she gets criticized. That comes with being great.

It’s hard to stomach because it has become obvious that the league, the officials, the media, the players, and even her own organization have all decided that the most important thing is not letting Caitlin Clark become too big.

And that is insane.
@WNBA @IndianaFever
This league was handed the most marketable, electric, revenue-generating player women’s basketball has ever seen, and instead of building around the moment, too many people seem obsessed with humbling her.

She gets fouled. Held. Hit. Cheap-shotted. Mocked. Targeted. Then when she reacts like a normal competitor, suddenly everyone wants to analyze her attitude.

No.

Her attitude is not the story.

The story is that a generational player is being treated like a problem by the very league she helped drag into mainstream relevance.

This reminds me of the worst kind of youth coach... the one who sees a special player, feels threatened by her talent, and slowly drains the joy out of her in the name of “teaching humility.”

That is what this looks like.

The freedom she played with at Iowa is disappearing. The fire is still there, but the joy looks damaged. The confidence looks weighed down. She looks like someone constantly fighting the refs, opponents, narratives, coaching decisions, jealousy, and a league culture that should be protecting its golden opportunity instead of resenting it.

And let’s be honest: Stephanie White has not helped.

Benching Caitlin Clark randomly when she is controlling the game tempo, or having your best shooter off the floor in critical game ending minutes when a victory is within reach is basketball malpractice. Limiting her rhythm, downplaying her greatness, benching momentum, and treating her like just another piece instead of the engine is absurd.

You do not take a player who changed the economics of your sport and manage her like you’re afraid her greatness might offend the room.

Nike deserves criticism too. Other players get signature shoes rolled out with urgency, while the biggest draw in women’s basketball is somehow still waiting on that signature shoe. That is not confusing. That is revealing.

Fans are not stupid.

They see the fouls.
They see the double standards.
They see the jealousy.
They see the media resentment.
They see the league benefiting from her popularity while refusing to fully embrace her.
And here is the part the WNBA better understand quickly:
People are not tuning in to watch Caitlin Clark be humbled.
They are tuning in to watch Caitlin Clark be great.
If she walked away tomorrow, the fans would follow her. The sponsors would follow her. The energy would follow her. The high salaries and the charter jets would follow her. And the league would be forced to confront the uncomfortable truth it keeps trying to avoid:

Caitlin Clark did not need the WNBA nearly as much as the WNBA needed Caitlin Clark.

At some point, her family, her agent, and her team need to ask a hard question:

How much longer do you let a league profit from her while allowing the culture around her to beat the spirit out of her?

Because from the outside looking in, this does not look like normal adversity anymore. It looks like abuse.

It looks like a league trying to break the very player who made millions of people care.

https://t.co/inOzS5bpCQ…

[Frank J. Viola, Jr. @FrankViola16]

I haven’t written in a while, but today’s a special day—@StJohnsBaseball played some impressive baseball this weekend. Congrats on getting thru the FSU regional. Here’s to a great super-regional vs. Alabama. Believe!!!

[The Twins Almanac @TwinsAlmanac]

.@FrankViola16 and Ron Darling locked horns in what is perhaps the greatest pitchers' duel in college baseball history on this date in 1981.

Ron Darling was pitching a no-hitter through 11 innings, but St. John's finally squeaked a run across the plate in the top of the 12th.

Frank Viola pitched 11 shutout innings before yielding to the bullpen to lock down the win in the bottom of the 12th.

Only 2,500 people witnessed this epic pitchers duel, but among them were legendary baseball writer Roger Angell and 91-year-old Smoky Joe Wood, who won 34 games during the 1912 regular season and another three in the World Series.

The Twins drafted Viola in the second round less than three weeks later. The Rangers selected Ron Darling ninth overall.

[Erik Dobratz @Erikd25]

Tomorrow is the 45 year anniversary of one of the great college baseball games of all time. Yale vs St. John's. Ron Darling vs Frank Viola. Here's the story I did back in 2018 with the original @wtnh footage. @SNY_Mets @FrankViola16

[This Day in Mets History @NYMhistory]

5/21/1981 Ron Darling and Frank Viola face off in a college matchup between Yale and St. John’s. Darling strikes out 16 batters and allows his first hit in the 12th inning, while Viola pitches 11 shutout innings and picks up the victory in a 1-0 St. John’s win.
@FrankViola16

[The Twins Almanac @TwinsAlmanac]

May 10–12, 1985: Baltimore's @19FredLynn hits a ninth-inning homer in all three games of a series against the #MNTwins. The first two were walk-offs. On this date, the only damage was breaking up a @FrankViola16 shutout.

Don Mattingly hit a walk-off off Ron Davis the next day.

[This Day in Mets History @NYMhistory]

5/12/1990 Frank Viola twirls a complete game four-hit shutout against the Dodgers, earning his ninth consecutive victory dating back to 1989. With the 129-pitch performance, Viola improves to 7-0 with a 0.87 ERA on the season.
@FrankViola16

[Scott F @TheFrizz87]

4-28-1993, the Red Sox beat the A's 3-1. @FrankViola16 allowed 1 run on 3 hits over 7.1 innings for the win. He improved to 4-1 with a 1.47 ERA for the season. Mo Vaughn hit his 4th home run of the season.

[High Point Rockers @RockersBaseball]

🚨 Meet the 2026 Opening Day Roster! 🚨 Get ready to cheer on your High Point Rockers as we kick off another thrilling season of baseball. These talented players are ready to bring the heat at Truist Point. Who’s excited for Opening Day? 🙌⚾️ #RockOn #OpeningDay2026