Profiles In Sports

There was plenty to talk about with the veteran of 15 big league seasons and 176 wins – from his college days at St. John’s to the grand stage of the World Series to coaching some of the top young arms of the New York Mets’ minor league system – and “Sweet Music” was happy to oblige. Among the topics discussed with Frank Viola: -His role in what many consider to be the greatest game in college baseball history, when he and Ron Darling dueled into extra innings during the 1981 NCAA Northeast Regional -The Minnesota Twins’ run through the 1987 postseason, ultimately leading to the franchise’s first title and the World Series MVP -How the assignment of pitching Game 1 of that ’87 World Series conflicted with another major responsibility -The Cy Young Award-winning season of 1988, in which he tallied 24 victories -Why attaining his 20th victory of the 1990 season for New York wasn’t without a moment of public embarrassment -His thoughts on the potential of the current crop of talented Mets pitchers