Frank Viola

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1982-1996)

Frank Viola was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1982 to 1996 for 5 teams, including the Minnesota Twins, a span of 15 seasons. Across 421 career appearances, he went 176-150 with a 3.73 ERA and 1,844 strikeouts. Frank Viola was a 3-time All-Star, a Cy Young, a World Series MVP, and a Babe Ruth Award. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 8225.7.

W (Wins):
Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):
Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):
For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):
Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated

W–L 176–150
ERA 3.73
WHIP 1.30
SO 1,844
Pitcher PIV 8225.7
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
L / L
Height / Weight
6'4" / 200 lb
Born
4/19/1960 in Hempstead, NY, USA
MLB Debut
1982-06-06
Last Game
1996-05-28
Awards
3× All-Star · Cy Young · World Series MVP · Babe Ruth Award

Full name: Frank John Viola

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Career Pitching Statistics

Frank Viola — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
176 150 421 420 74 16 0 2836.3 2,827 1,175 294 864 1,844 3.73 8225.7

Career ERA 3.73 vs. league average 4.02 across their career seasons — 7.3% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Frank Viola Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1982 MIN AL 4 10 22 22 3 1 0 126.0 152 73 38 84 5.21 3.86 (-35%) -2189.0
1983 MIN AL 7 15 35 34 4 0 0 210.0 242 128 92 127 5.49 3.87 (-42%) -6334.1
1984 MIN AL 18 12 35 35 10 4 0 257.7 225 92 73 149 3.21 3.81 (+16%) -707.7
1985 MIN AL 18 14 36 36 9 0 0 250.7 262 114 68 135 4.09 3.89 (-5%) 659.7
1986 MIN AL 16 13 37 37 7 1 0 245.7 257 123 83 191 4.51 3.97 (-13%) -1545.9
1987 MIN AL 17 10 36 36 7 1 0 251.7 230 81 66 197 2.90 4.29 (+33%) 4180.6
1988 MIN AL 24 7 35 35 7 2 0 255.3 236 75 54 193 2.64 3.73 (+29%) 5297.1
1989 MIN AL 8 12 24 24 7 1 0 175.7 171 74 47 138 3.79 3.71 (-2%) 1850.5
1989 NYN NL 5 5 12 12 2 1 0 85.3 75 32 27 73 3.38 3.71 (+9%) 1980.5
1990 NYN NL 20 12 35 35 7 3 0 249.7 227 74 60 182 2.67 3.86 (+31%) 6463.2
1991 NYN NL 13 15 35 35 3 0 0 231.3 259 102 54 132 3.97 3.91 (-1%) 475.9
1992 BOS AL 13 12 35 35 6 1 0 238.0 214 91 89 121 3.44 3.75 (+8%) 367.9
1993 BOS AL 11 8 29 29 2 1 0 183.7 180 64 72 91 3.14 4.19 (+25%) 332.5
1994 BOS AL 1 1 6 6 0 0 0 31.0 34 16 17 9 4.65 4.51 (-3%) -405.0
1995 CIN NL 0 1 3 3 0 0 0 14.3 20 10 3 4 6.28 4.45 (-41%) -517.0
1996 TOR AL 1 3 6 6 0 0 0 30.3 43 26 21 18 7.71 4.61 (-67%) -1683.5
Career · 16 seasons 176 150 421 420 74 16 0 2,836.1 2,827 1,175 864 1,844 3.73 — 8,226

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

Frank Viola — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
421 185 8 26 3 0 0 6 0 3 41 .141 .154 .157 .311 -1,387

Career AVG .141 vs. league average .261 across their career seasons — 46.1% below league average.

Career OBP .154 vs. league average .327 across their career seasons — 52.9% below league average.

Career SLG .157 vs. league average .395 across their career seasons — 60.4% below league average.

Career OPS .311 vs. league average .723 across their career seasons — 57.0% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Frank Viola Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1982 MIN AL 22 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1983 MIN AL 35 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1984 MIN AL 35 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1985 MIN AL 36 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1986 MIN AL 37 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1987 MIN AL 36 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1988 MIN AL 35 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1989 MIN AL 24 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1989 NYN NL 12 23 2 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 7 .130 — — — — 0.0
1990 NYN NL 35 85 4 13 0 0 0 4 0 0 20 .153 .257 (-41%) .324 (-53%) .385 (-60%) .710 (-57%) -753.1
1991 NYN NL 35 71 2 9 2 0 0 1 0 2 13 .127 .255 (-50%) .323 (-53%) .384 (-60%) .708 (-57%) -634.1
1992 BOS AL 35 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1993 BOS AL 29 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1994 BOS AL 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1995 CIN NL 3 6 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .167 — — — — 0.0
1996 TOR AL 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 16 seasons 421 185 8 26 3 0 0 6 0 3 41 .141 — — — — -1,387

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Frank Viola — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Frank Viola — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1987 ALCS MIN 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1987 WS MIN 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

Frank Viola — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
3 1 5 5 0 31.3 31 15 8 25 4.31

Playoff Pitching by Year

Frank Viola — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1987 ALCS MIN 1 0 2 2 0 12.0 14 7 5 9 5.25
1987 WS MIN 2 1 3 3 0 19.3 17 8 3 16 3.72

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (842 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Frank Viola — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home2108761004.115
Away2119821602.163

Pitching — Home / Away

Frank Viola — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home2101447.014605904219843.67
Away2111389.113675854438603.79

Last 10 Games — Batting

Frank Viola — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1996-05-28 TORCHWL 000000000
1996-05-23 TORMINW 000000000
1996-05-18 TORKCRW 000000000
1996-05-11 TORBOSW 000000000
1996-05-04 TORBOSL 000000000
1996-04-28 TORCLEL 000000000
1995-09-05 CINHOUL 100000000
1995-08-31 CINPITL 200000001
1995-08-26 CINPITW 301100000
1994-05-03 BOSSEAW 000000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Frank Viola — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1996-05-28 TORCHW L 5.2544642
1996-05-23 TORMIN — 5.1843321
1996-05-18 TORKCR W 6.0511241
1996-05-11 TORBOS — 5.0644640
1996-05-04 TORBOS L 4.1955230
1996-04-28 TORCLE L 4.010109212
1995-09-05 CINHOU L 4.0433321
1995-08-31 CINPIT — 5.2833010
1995-08-26 CINPIT — 4.2854012
1994-05-03 BOSSEA — 2.2532220

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Frank Viola — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 421 420 84 371 32 19

Season-by-Season Fielding

Frank Viola — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1982 MIN P 22 22 1 15 2 0
1983 MIN P 35 34 7 23 1 2
1984 MIN P 35 35 6 26 1 1
1985 MIN P 36 36 6 33 5 0
1986 MIN P 37 37 8 21 3 1
1987 MIN P 36 36 6 34 3 1
1988 MIN P 35 35 5 30 2 1
1989 MIN P 24 24 7 26 3 1
1989 NYN P 12 12 3 9 1 2
1990 NYN P 35 35 11 34 1 1
1991 NYN P 35 35 6 34 4 1
1992 BOS P 35 35 6 47 2 6
1993 BOS P 29 29 10 31 4 1
1994 BOS P 6 6 0 4 0 1
1995 CIN P 3 3 0 2 0 0
1996 TOR P 6 6 2 2 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Frank Viola Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 421

Awards & Honors

Frank Viola — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1990 TSN All-Star LHP
1989 Player of the Week Week of 1989-06-30
1988 Cy Young Award
1988 Pitcher of the Month May
1988 TSN All-Star LHP
1988 TSN Pitcher of the Year
1987 Babe Ruth Award P
1987 Pitcher of the Month July
1987 World Series MVP

Salary History

Frank Viola — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
1995 CIN NL $190,000
1994 BOS AL $4,333,334
1993 BOS AL $4,833,333
1992 BOS AL $4,833,333
1991 NYN NL $3,166,667
1990 NYN NL $1,966,667
1989 MIN AL $2,766,666
1988 MIN AL $1,350,000
1987 MIN AL $830,000
1986 MIN AL $674,000
1985 MIN AL $375,000
Total Career Earnings $25,319,000

College History

Frank Viola — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
St. John's University Queens NY 1979, 1980, 1981

Award Voting History

Frank Viola — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1990 Cy Young Award NL 3rd 19.0 120 0
1988 Cy Young Award AL 1st 138.0 140 27
1988 Most Valuable Player AL 10th 39.0 392 0
1987 Cy Young Award AL 6th 5.0 140 0
1984 Cy Young Award AL 6th 2.0 140 0

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Frank Viola (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Tom Candiotti
    151-164, 3.73 ERA
  2. 85
    Ken Holtzman
    174-150, 3.49 ERA
  3. 78
    Kevin Appier
    169-137, 3.74 ERA
  4. 76
    Bob Knepper
    146-155, 3.68 ERA
  5. 72
    Jim Lonborg
    157-137, 3.86 ERA
  6. 72
    Kevin Millwood
    169-152, 4.11 ERA

Frequently Asked Questions about Frank Viola

What years did Frank Viola play?
Frank Viola played in Major League Baseball from 1982 to 1996.
Was Frank Viola a pitcher?
Yes. Frank Viola pitched in the major leagues, recording 176 wins and 1844 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Frank Viola hit?
Frank Viola hit 0 career home runs with 26 hits.
What was Frank Viola's career batting average?
Frank Viola batted .141 over his career, with 26 hits in 185 at bats.
How many RBI did Frank Viola have?
Frank Viola drove in 6 runs in his career.
What was Frank Viola's career ERA?
Frank Viola finished with a 3.73 career ERA, going 176-150 with 1,844 strikeouts.