Frank Viola III
Pitcher
Born: (1984-06-19) June 19, 1984
St. Paul, Minnesota
Bats: Right
Throws: Right

Frank John Viola III[1] (born June 19, 1984) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is retired. He played for the Chicago White Sox Organization twice (2003-2008, 2015) and also played for the Independent League St. Paul Saints (2010), and in the Toronto Blue Jays organization (2014). Viola is the son of major league pitcher and 1988 Cy Young Award winner Frank Viola and the brother of 2008 and 2011 NCAA Champion platform diver and 2012 Olympian, Brittany Viola.

Career

Viola attended Florida College and was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 29th round of the 2004 MLB Draft.[1] After signing with the White Sox, Viola was assigned to the rookie level Bristol White Sox where he had a 5-2 record with a 3.82 ERA in 13 games (12 starts).[2] After blowing out his elbow in spring training, he missing the entire 2006 season following Tommy John surgery. In 2007, Viola returned to Bristol, but pitched in only 11 games (0-0 record with a 4.96 ERA) before he injured his knee. He was released by the White Sox organization following the season.[3] On June 29, 2010,[4] he returned to baseball after signing with the independent league St. Paul Saints and finished with a 1-2 record and a 4.58 ERA in 21 games before retiring from professional baseball.[1]

After failing tryouts with several major league teams, Viola was hired to be a studio analyst for Bright House Sports Network on their studio show and for their Florida State League broadcasts. He also started his own fishing show and also sold timeshares.[5] Starting in 2012,[6] Frank III worked with Toronto's R. A. Dickey, former Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield and Hall of Famer Phil Niekro on developing a knuckleball to resurrect his baseball career.[2] On March 5, 2014, he was signed by the Toronto Blue Jays to a minor league contract,[7] and was assigned to the Lansing Lugnuts, their Class-A affiliate, on June 6.[8]

On June 14, 2014, Viola earned his first affiliated professional baseball win since 2005 when the Lugnuts topped the Great Lakes Loons 3-0. Viola pitched 62⁄3 scoreless innings, allowed eight hits, struck out one and walked two batters on his way to the win.[9] On July 2, he was promoted to the Dunedin Blue Jays.[10] In his debut for Dunedin, Viola pitched 6 innings and surrendered 1 run on 5 hits, with 4 walks.[11] On July 21, Viola was released by the Blue Jays organization.[12] He made 9 starts in 2014 and posted a 3–4 win–loss record, 7.15 earned run average, and a 2.05 WHIP over 39 innings.[1]

In February 2015, he signed a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox.[13] He retired on March 31.[14]

In 2016, Frank founded a non-profit organization Expiration 2050, which advocates toward sustainable wild fisheries and healthy marine life. His organization works closely with corporations, organizations and locals to find and create educational and creative campaigns toward viable solutions. His website, Exp2050.org went live in March 2017.

Frank now hosts a YouTube fishing series named "Fishing With Frankie", which he hosts, films and produces with his friend, Jim Cichoski.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Frank Viola Minor League Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
  2. 1 2 Sports, Fox (March 5, 2014). "Blue Jays sign knuckleballer Frank Viola III to Minor League Contract - Tip of the Tower - A Toronto Sports Site - Maple Leafs, Blue Jays, Raptors, Toronto FC, Raptors and Argonauts". Tip of the Tower. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  3. ↑ Sports, Fox (March 5, 2014). "Toronto Blue Jays sign knuckleballer Frank Viola III to minor league deal - Jays Journal - A Toronto Blue Jays Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More". Jays Journal. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  4. ↑ Pioneer Press (June 29, 2010). "St. Paul Saints sign Frank Viola (no, not that one)". TwinCities.com. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Q&A with Frank Viola III, St. Paul Saints pitcher". Star Tribune. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Mentored by R. A. Dickey, Frank Viola III learning knuckleball to revive career with Mets | mets.com: News". Newyork.mets.mlb.com. March 27, 2014. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Transactions | bluejays.com: Team". Toronto.bluejays.mlb.com. March 27, 2014. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  8. ↑ Whitzman, April (March 5, 2014). "Blue Jays sign another Knuckleballer with Frank Viola III". Canadian Baseball Network. Archived from the original on May 30, 2014. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  9. ↑ Wilson, Trey (June 14, 2014). "Viola wins first since 2005 in Lugs shutout". MiLB.com. Retrieved June 14, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Twitter / Dunedin Blue Jays". Twitter. July 2, 2014. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  11. ↑ Murray, Tyler (July 4, 2014). "Viola knuckles, Threshers knees buckle in W". MiLB.com. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Florida State League Transactions - July 2014". MiLB.com. Retrieved August 24, 2014.
  13. ↑ Eddy, Matt (February 28, 2015). "Minor League Transactions: Feb. 20-26". Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Carolina League Transactions". milb.com. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
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