St. John's Red Storm Baseball Players - Frank Viola, John Franco, Anthony Varvaro (Paperback)

Chapters: Frank Viola, John Franco, Anthony Varvaro. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 20. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Frank John Viola, Jr. (born April 19, 1960 in East Meadow, New York) is a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Minnesota Twins (1982-89), New York Mets (1989-91), Boston Red Sox (1992-94), Cincinnati Reds (1995) and Toronto Blue Jays (1996). A three-time All-Star, he was named World Series MVP with the Twins in 1987 and won the AL Cy Young Award in 1988. He batted and threw left-handed, and was nicknamed "Sweet Music" a nickname he picked up after a Minnesota sports writer declared that when Viola pitched, there was "Sweet Music' in the Dome. The nickname was a play on the fact that his last name is also a name of a musical instrument. A fan began displaying a banner bearing the phrase in the outfield's upper deck whenever Viola pitched. Twins fans considered the banner to be a good luck charm. The banner is now property of the Minnesota Historical Society. It was again displayed when Viola was inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame. Frank was honored as a member of the TWINS ALL DOME team in 2009. Viola attended East Meadow High School in East Meadow, New York and played for the baseball team while he attended the school. Viola went on to attend St. John's University before being drafted in the 2nd round of the 1981 Major League Baseball Draft by the Twins. His debut in the majors was only one year after that, on June 6, 1982. He has a brother and sister, John Viola and Nancy Viola. The most prominent portion of his career came in Minnesota, where he picked up 112 of his 176 career wins. His overall career stats are impressive, with a 3.73 ERA, 176-150 record, 74 complete games, and 16 shutouts in 421 games. His most impressive ca...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=1740941