The New York Mets renamed the street in front of Citi Field in honor of former ace Tom Seaver and announced plans to erect a statue of the Hall of Fame right-hander outside the stadium.
The team made the announcement that 126th Street would be renamed Seaver Way on Thursday in a ceremony outside their home ballpark. The address of Citi Field is now 41 Seaver Way. Seaver wore No. 41 during his career.
“Tom was a once-in-a-lifetime player and will always be remembered as one of the greatest players in Mets history. Tom truly lived up to his nicknames of ‘Tom Terrific’ and ‘The Franchise,’ ” Mets CEO Jeff Wilpon said, according to Newsday.
Wilpon said Thursday the Mets will provide a timeline for the construction of the statue once the final plans are approved by the club’s Hall of Fame committee.
⚾️ Tom Seaver statue coming to @CitiField ⚾️
We’ve commissioned a statue of Tom Terrific to be built in front of @CitiField. Additional details to come at a later date. pic.twitter.com/LTUWKR8q0u
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 27, 2019
In March, Seaver’s family announced that he had been diagnosed with dementia and would retire from public life. His daughters, Sarah and Anne, attended Thursday’s ceremony.
Seaver, 74, helped propel the Miracle Mets of 1969 to a World Series title. He won the Cy Young Award that season and led the National League with 25 wins. The Mets retired Seaver’s No. 41 in 1988. The team will honor the 1969 championship team on Saturday, even though Seaver will not be able to attend the ceremony.
Seaver, the 1967 Rookie of the Year, was selected to the All-Star Game 12 times, led the league in strikeouts five times and won three Cy Young Awards. He finished his career with 311 wins and 3,640 strikeouts and inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992.
Seaver, who played 12 seasons for the Mets, still holds several franchise pitching records, including wins (198), games started (395), innings pitched (3,045 2/3), complete games (171) and shutouts (44).
The Associated Press contributed to this report.