Frank Viola knows what Zack Wheeler was going through before the highly touted right-handed pitcher made his major-league debut for the Mets on Tuesday night in Atlanta.
“It’s a nerve-wracking time,” said Viola on Tuesday in the visitor’s clubhouse at FirstEnergy Park, where the former 15-year MLB veteran was in town to serve as pitching coach of the Southern Division in the South Atlantic League All-Star Game.
Viola, who was a collegiate star at St. John’s University and a second-round draft choice of the Twins in 1981, remembers what it was like when he made his highly anticipated debut with Minnesota on June 6, 1982, against Baltimore. Viola was the losing pitcher in that game after he allowed three runs on six hits in five innings, but went on to win 176 games with the Twins, Mets, Red Sox and Blue Jays.