Former New York Met pitcher Frank Viola is hoping that he will make it to the big leagues once again, this time as a coach.
This season Sweet Music will be the pitching coach for the Mets Triple-A affiliate the Las Vegas 51s. It will be the fourth season for Viola as the 51s pitching coach and his seventh overall in the Mets organization as a coach.
Viola thought he was going to get that chance to coach in the majors when he was brought into interview for the Baltimore Orioles pitching coach position. The Orioles instead went with another former Met in Roger McDowell.
Viola had this to say about the interview Dan Martin of the New York Post, “I thought the interview went well and I walked out feeling good. They waited 2 ¹/₂ weeks before they hired Roger.”
Orioles would have certainly been a nice fit for Viola considering him and his wife live in North Carolina and all three of their children live on the East Coast.
He will continue to look for opportunities at the major league level and said this, “After being in Vegas for four years, I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t love to have an opportunity to make a difference in the big leagues.”
It will be tough for that chance to come with the Mets given the success of current pitching coach Dan Warthen. Using Robert Gsellman‘s strong pro debut as a perfect example for how important Warthen has been to the Mets. Gsellman added a few ticks consistently on his fastball in the majors and refined his slider. (Should note Binghamton Mets pitching Glenn Abbott also helped in development of his slider.)
Gsellman, in less than a year, went from a possible 4th/5th starter to one of the top right-handed pitching prospect in baseball.
Over the past few years, Viola has helped mold important pitchers for the Mets in Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz, Jacob deGrom, Seth Lugo and Josh Smoker.
Photo Credit – John Gurzinski
