Frank Viola, Jr., turned 28 yesterday, still young for most professions, but nearly ancient when you’re a pitcher looking to find a team to play for.
But the son of the former 20-game winner for the Mets isn’t ready to give up on his goal of following his father into the majors and games like the one on Monday at Citi Field — when R.A. Dickey used his knuckleball to make yet another team look foolish — remind him why.
“What he’s doing is amazing,” said Viola, Jr., who is unsigned but works out with the Mets’ Class-A affiliate in Savannah, Ga., where Frank, Sr., is the pitching coach. “And I’m sure it helps guys like me who are looking for a chance.”
But Dickey, now 11-1 with a 2.00 ERA after back-to-back one-hitters, isn’t just making the knuckleball relevant again by having arguably the best season of any pitcher in the majors. He has also become a part-time pitching coach to a handful of players who are trying to follow in his footsteps.
Dickey worked with Viola, who pitched in the White Sox farm system, for nearly a month during spring training in Port St. Lucie and the two have kept in contact. The right-hander also gave tips to high school senior Stephen Orso, perhaps the youngest player whose primary pitch is the knuckleball.
“He got me to where now I can pinpoint my knuckleball better than my fastball,” said the 18-year-old from Port Washington who played this spring at IMG Baseball in Bradenton, Fla. “Without him, I don’t think my knuckleball would be where it is.”
With Orso, Dickey showed him how to avoid throwing across his body, like a typical pitching motion, to cut down on the spin of the ball. Viola has been working on staying back in his delivery.
“When you pitch traditionally, everything is about driving with your legs,” Viola, Jr., said. “It’s different with the knuckleball.”
Dickey looks back to when veteran knuckleballers such as Charlie Hough and Tim Wakefield, helped him perfect his technique as a reason why he’s giving the tutorials.
“One of the things that let me do well was that people who knew what they were doing, poured what they knew into me,” said Dickey, who exchanges texts and watches video of the pitchers he has been introduced to. “If I have the opportunity, I want to do the same for others.”
Perhaps the most important thing he’s doing for the pitch, though, is dominating major league hitters.
“As a knuckleballer, you’re always behind the 8-ball coming up as far as people believing in what you can do, until you consistently prove it,” Dickey said. “It’s a different standard. People come in with different perceptions. My hope is that people will see the legitimacy of it. I’ve tried to dispel a lot of the distrust about it being consistent.”
But Viola, Sr., thinks Dickey’s advice about being patient could be even more important than what he teaches his pupils on the mound.
“With all the trials and tribulations he had to go through to get to where he is now, he can relate to these guys more than I can,” the elder Viola said. “It’s a whole different world for them.”
Still, his son wouldn’t mind if Dickey keeps piling up wins, as well.
“If he keeps pitching like this, teams have got to become interested in the pitch again,” Viola, Jr., said. “And I want to be the guy they call.”
dan.martin@nypost.com