Hartford Courant from Hartford, Connecticut • 69

THE HABTFC3D COURANT: Sunday, April 1, 1990 E3 Viola's laugh as valuable as his pitches tations of me in school," he said. 'I thought it was normal. I laugh like my mother. I didn't think her laugh was strange." To the Mets, Viola's laugh is a source of laughter. "The clubhouse is a better place partially because of Frankie and the way he reacts to things," shortstop Kevin Elster said.

The laugh is Viola's primary means of communication. With Roger McDowell and his Upside-Down Man now sharing a home outside Philadelphia, the Mets' clubhouse lacks a real prankster. Reliever John Franco, Viola's college buddy, is a stand-up comic. But as funny as Franco may be, his greatest value is as the assist man. He frequently al-ley-oops to his friend.

Franco's lines ignite the fuse leading to the explosive. When Viola hears Franco's lines, he detonates with that laugh, and everyone is laughing, even if they haven't heard Franco. It is hardly coincidental that the number of smiles in the Mets' clubhouse has increased noticeably. As significant as it is, Viola's contribution to the team's levity is not his most important raison d'etre. As he said, "If I don't do my job, things get serious in a hurry." If he does, people will smile for another reason.

The Mets already smile, just thinking about the possibilities. Gooden, Viola, Sid Fernandez, David Cone, Darling. 'It boggles my mind," pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre said. 'As soon as we got Frank, my immediate reaction was of his value for the future and what this staff would be like next this year." he joined the Mets in St. Louis.

So when he entered the visitors clubhouse at Busch Stadium, his first move was to locate Gooden's locker and remove everything from it. The prank produced the desired result a laugh. The Mets welcomed him in their own way. He had welcomed them in his with a laugh. Laughter follows Viola as 2 follows 1, or in the case of the Mets' rotation, as 1-A follows 1.

Or as Viola follows Gooden. That is the sequence. Viola laughs as no one else laughs in the Mets' clubhouse. It's piercing, almost electric, and as contagious as the common cold. Pitcher Ron Darling says you notice Viola's laugh the way you notice Manute Bol's height.

And Viola says he never noticed. "Not until guys started doing imi 1 As c-, By MARTY NOBLE Newsday "I don't care how much money he makes. I'd give him anything he wants. He can have my locker. Ill even take him to the best restaurants, but he can 't have my number.

Dwight Gooden on Frank Viola, last summer PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. Frank Viola had read the quote before the Minnesota Twins sent him home last summer. And though be barely knew The Doctor at that time, he assumed no problems would arise. He didn't want Dwight Gooden's No.

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Or from an actuarial evaluation analyst at Cigna Corp. what? "Sounds cool, huh?" said Fagnant, 23, a catcher who has worked at Cigna in Hartford during intervals between professional baseball jobs. "Basically, we evaluate pension plans." fagnant, a 1987 graduate of Assumption College in Worcester, likes his Cigna job. He likes the people. He likes the hours.

He likes the numbers and the analytical work. And if baseball kept him from doing the job full time for 10 or 12 years, that would be fine. "I've told them I won't be going back there full time until I know I won't be playing again," Fagnant said. "It's not fair to break up their continuity and everything. They took me back last September after I signed in June, and then I left again this March.

With the way the pension industry is, it's not fair to them because the legislation and regulation keeps changing all the time and you have to be on top of it." Fagnant started at Cigna in January 1988 after his first aborted attempt at pro ball. He signed as a free agent with the Pirates in July 1987, and was sent to the team's Braden-ton affiliate in the Gulf Coast League. There was only one problem. The team had about 200 catchers. "It just didn't work out," Fagnant said.

"They had so many players and were so overstocked that they had to release someone. Unfortunately, it was me." He returned to his native Chico-pee, and finished the summer playing for a semi-pro team in the Tri-County League. In the fall, he sent out resumes and was a substitute teacher in East Windsor. "The whole time I knew I could still play, and I knew I still wanted to," he said. "So, I kept working out and talking to scouts.

I talked with Red Sox scout Bill Enos at a baseball coaches convention. He said he would see what he could do, but he wasn't exactly encouraging." Then Fagnant got lucky. In June, after five months on the job at Cigna, he got a call from Ed Kenney the Red Sox' director of minor league operations. "I was at work," Fagnant said. "It was enough of a shock that he called me.

But then he asked me if I could be in New Britain that night. The night before, we had a company soft-ball game, so I went from slow-pitch to Double-A in 24 hours." The Britsox had a dire need for a P-Vrangler Radial For mini-vans, mini-pickups, and 4-WD cars All season, all terrain performance for on-road, off-road driving Self-cleaning tread resists plugging up in mud or snow catcher, since starter Livio Padilla had just gone on the disabled list. Fagnant played in New Britain for a couple of weeks, and then the Red Sox sent him to the Gulf Coast League. "I was there for about eight hours," he said. Then on to Winter Haven in the Florida State League.

Winter Haven was playing in Lakeland against the Tigers' affiliate. Detroit veteran Jack Morris, coming back from an injury, had just embarked on a rehabilitation program with Lakeland. "I played in the second game of the doubleheader and Morris was pitching," Fagnant said. "My first time up, I hit one off the left-field fence. I remember standing at second base thinking, a little higher and I would have had a dinger off him." Funny he should think that.

"My second time up, I hit one out," he said. "Being realistic, I knew he was just down there getting his work and probably just grooving the ball. But still. The year ended on a significantly lower note l-for-18 and a final batting average of .150 in 10 games. But he is back this year, suited with the necessary optimism he might make it.

It will not be easy. The system is loaded with good young catchers, such as Eric Wedge, John Flaherty and Pedro Matilla. And there is this small problem with throwing. "I'm a very streaky thrower," he said. "That will probably make me or break me.

I have the arm strength. I could probably throw the ball through a brick wall. If I could hit it. I remember in a college all-star game at Fenway, I hit a couple over the Green Monster in batting practice. Well, in the game, I almost threw one over it when trying to throw to third.

I'll tell you, there was nobody going to steal center field on me that day." Fagnant is slotted to stay in Florida for extended spring training and then possibly go north to Elmira when the New York-Penn League schedule begins after the June amateur draft. "I'd prefer to break camp with Winter Haven, and then go north as the starting catcher in Elmira," he said. "But no matter where I am, things are infinitely more optimistic now. Just being down here is a thrill." Fagnant debuted with the major leaguers Thursday when he served as the bullpen catcher for eight innings in Haines City against the Royals and then caught Jeff Rear-don in the ninth inning. "This is the highlight of my year," he said.

"He didn't shake me off once." Fagnant debuted with the major leaguers Thursday when he served as the bullpen catcher for eight innings in Haines City against the Royals and then caught Jeff Rear-don in the ninth inning. "This is the highlight of my year," he said. "He didn't shake me off once." his former teammates, had two solo home runs and an RBI double for Chicago. Evans had an RBI single off White Sox starter Greg Hibbard, 0-2, in a six-run first inning. The White Sox reduced their roster to 27 by making pitcher Shawn Hillegas, 25, their final cut.

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Dwight Evans hit a two-run home run and Mike Greenwell went 4-for-5 Saturday to lead the Red Sox past the Chicago White Sox 11-10 in their final exhibition game of the spring. Carlton Fisk, batting .323 against.