Earlier this month, the family of Tom Seaver announced the Hall of Fame pitcher has been diagnosed with dementia, and that he is retiring from public life. The 74-year-old won 311 games and three Cy Young Awards during a 20-year career that spanned 1967-86.
Seaver played most of his career with the New York Mets and is the franchise's all-time leader in wins (198), ERA (2.57) strikeouts (2,541), innings (3,045 2/3), and WAR (76.0). He is, quite simply, the greatest Mets player ever. As such, the team announced plans Thursday to change Citi Field's address in Seaver's honor:
Steven Marcus of Newsday reports 126th Street, the street in front of Citi Field, will be renamed Seaver Way. The ballpark's address will become 41 Seaver Way, with 41 of course being the number Seaver wore his entire Hall of Fame career. The street will be renamed during a ceremony in June.
The Mets are also planning to dedicate a statue in Seaver's honor in front of Citi Field, Marcus reports, though the team has not yet announced any plans. From Marcus:
The team continues to work on a plan for a Seaver statue and expects to provide additional information during the June festivities.
...
"We've been working on exploring a potential statue option for a couple of years in coordination with the [Seaver] family,'' (executive vice president and chief revenue officer Lou) DePaoli said. "We won't be unveiling a statue this season. We will unveil the plans of what it will look like sometime on that (June) weekend."
There are currently no player statues outside Citi Field. The Jackie Robinson Rotunda inside the ballpark features a large No. 42 to honor Robinson, plus the old Home Run Apple from Shea Stadium sits outside the ballpark.
Seaver and Mike Piazza are the only players inducted into the Hall of Fame as a New York Met.
