Frank Viola Talks Working with Jacob deGrom

By Jay Horwitz

Frank Viola’s pep talk with Jacob deGrom might have saved his career. It was 2012 and Jacob was rehabbing from Tommy John surgery with Savannah, the Single-A affiliate of the Mets in the South Atlantic League. He was 24 years old, pitching in A ball and had undergone a position change from shortstop. Frank, at the time, was the pitching coach with Savannah.

In the latest edition of my Mets Amazin’ Alumni Podcast, which will drop on Friday, Viola told me the following, “Jacob asked me where I thought is career was going. He was still in A ball recovering from Tommy John. What kind of future could he have?”

Viola told him not toe be discouraged, that his future was bright and there was no doubt in his mind he would one day make it to the majors.

Back then Frank knew there was something special in Jacob’s make up which would soon translate into a Rookie of the Year Award and two Cy Young Awards.

Even back then he had the right temperament on the mound and was dedicated to the game. Frank said he made every pitch count and was a serious student of the game.

Viola to this day follows each of deGrom’s outings and is hopeful his star pupil might win a third Cy Young in the near future. There is no doubt in Viola’s mind that deGrom is now the top pitcher in all of baseball.

Frank, who was the MVP of the 1987 World Series with the Minnesota Twins and the 1988 Cy Young winner, recently moved to North Carolina. He is now the pitching coach with the High Point Rockers of the independent Atlantic League, which is affiliated with MLB.

Frank is proud of Jacob’s accomplishments. He said to me that he was the ultimate teammate and never really cared about personal goals. He was team first and that hasn’t changed during his time with the Mets.

My podcast with Frank will be new and improved. We did it on zoom and you can see Frank and I chatting for over 30 minutes about deGrom and his old Met and St. John’s teammate John Franco. Hope you like it. It will give fans a chance to meet our alumni players up close and personal.