The oft-praised pitching coach and former Mets and Twins pitcher will miss the season.
Frank Viola will undergo open-heart surgery next Wednesday after Mets doctors discovered a condition that required prompt treatment, according to ESPN New York. The 53-year-old former Mets and Twins pitcher was slated to spend the year coaching the Mets' Triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas, but he will miss the season.
Viola has been a pitching coach in the Mets' system for the past three years. He spent 2011 with the Low-A Brooklyn Cyclones and the last two seasons with the Single-A Savannah Sand Gnats. As a major league pitcher, Viola played for fifteen years, two-and-a-half of which were with the Mets.
Of course, that's all secondary to his health now. Here's hoping all goes well next week and Viola makes a quick and full recovery from the operation.
