I agree with you, he's not ready yet. Your interesting rhetorical questions deserve a response- I didn't remember how Hrbek/Viola were doing in the minors, so now I do and will share that with anyone interested. Hrbek's age 21 A-ball season before his late-season callup in 1981: 121 game 535 PAs .379 BA 1.076 OPS 27 HRs 111 RBIs (I know, not that meaningful...but still) Herbie finished second in ROY voting in 1982. Viola didn't have nearly the minor league track record Hrbek did, but Herbie came out of high school and Viola had been a very good pitcher in college. Viola had been decent in AA as a 21-yr old, then left Toledo (AAA) after 8 starts with an era of 3.88. Viola was called up in 1982 at age 22. He had two really bad years as a starter his first two years in Minnesota. 1982: 4-10, 5.21 ERA, 82 ERA+ 1983: 7-15, 5.49 ERA, 77 ERA+ I'm not convinced bringing him up that soon was helpful for him. That's a year and a half of bad, bad pitching.