of the Twins' starting staff for the next 7 seasons, picking up 112 of his 176 career wins. Viola helped pitch the Twins to their second World Series appearance and first World Series win in 1987; he finished the season with a 17–10 record, a 2.90 ERA, and 197 strikeouts in innings. Viola would then sparkle in the post-season, going a combined 3–1 with 25 strikeouts in innings despite a 4.31 ERA. Following the Twins' Game 7 series–clinching win—a game which Viola won 4–2—he was named the 1987 World Series Most Valuable Player. Most baseball enthusiasts agree that Viola's best year was 1988, his last full year with the Twins. That year, he threw his signature circle change with skill, compiling an impressive 24–7 record with 7 complete games and 2 shutouts in 255 innings pitched with a career-low ERA of 2.64. He also gave up only 20 home runs and 54 walks. Viola led the league in wins and would go on to win the AL Cy Young Award in a landslide, finishing with 27 of the 28 first-place votes and beating out second-place Dennis Eckersley by 86 total votes. New York Mets At the trade deadline in July —two years after Viola had led the Twins to a World Series title—the Twins traded him to the New York Mets for four pitchers and a player to be named later. Viola was not having a strong year and was 8–12 when he was traded, but he managed a 5–5 record with the Mets and finished the year at 13–17. Meanwhile, two of the pitchers the Twins acquired in the deal went on to become key members of the team: Kevin Tapani was one of the front-line starters for the Twins in their 1991 World Series run, while Rick Aguilera eventually became the team's closer and one of the best relievers in the major leagues. Viola had a much better year in 1990, winning 20 games for the second time in his career. He would finish third in the Cy Young Award voting behind Pittsburgh's Doug Drabek and Los Angeles' Ramón Martínez, and he was named to the National League's All-Star Team. In , Viola made the All-Star Game for a third time after posting an 11–5 record in the first half of the season. However, as the Mets collapsed in the second half of the year to finish with