Tom Seaver finally has his rightful place outside Citi Field after the Mets unveiled the long-overdue statue Friday commemorating the Hall of Fame pitcher aptly known as The Franchise.
“Hello Tom, it’s so nice to have you where you belong,” Seaver’s widow Nancy said through tears during the ceremony before Friday’s home opener against the Diamondbacks.
Seaver, a three-time Cy Young award winner and the star of the Mets’ 1969 World Series championship team, died in August 2020 of complications of Lewy body dementia and COVID-19. His number 41 was retired by the club in 1988, but fans have clamored for years for this honor.
Among those in attendance were current owner Steve Cohen, former owner Fred Wilpon, former Mets stars Mike Piazza, Mookie Wilson, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling and injured ace Jacob deGrom.
“Tom Seaver, as Mike Piazza just said, is royalty. Like I’ve always said, it’s important to celebrate our history. I’m glad we did it and it’s something I think was important to do.” Mets owner Steve Cohen said after the ceremony. “It’s so special. Such an incredible day for the family and an incredible day for all Mets fans, and long overdue.”
The 10-foot high, 3,200-pound bronze and structural stainless steel statue adjacent to the Home Run Apple in the front of the ballpark depicts Seaver in his famous “drop-and-drive” delivery. It was sculpted by William Behrends, who previously had been commissioned to complete the statues of Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal and Orlando Cepeda outside Oracle Park in San Francisco.
“I studied, studied and studied Seaver … I just kept adjusting it and tweaking it to make it as exact as possible,” Behrends said. “He had such a unique pitching motion and was such a unique athlete that it took a lot of studying to get it correct.”
Seaver’s large family contingent in attendance — led by Nancy and daughters Sarah and Anne — was delighted with the final product.
“Isn’t it wonderful?” Sarah Seaver said. “I was so lucky to go to William’s studio in North Carolina [earlier in the process]. I mean, wow, to see it here now, with the flags and the beautiful stadium behind it and next to the Apple, it’s exactly where it should be. It’s thrilling.”
Asked if she wished the Mets would have dedicated a statue while her father still was alive, Sarah Seaver added: “It’s been in the works for quite some time. Something this magnificent doesn’t happen overnight. It takes quite a while. … Dad never expected or would have anticipated there would be a statue of him. So it wasn’t ever something that the family expected. But we’re thrilled, we’re thrilled for the fans and thrilled for New York. I think it all happened in good time. I think it was worth the wait.”
Cohen, who received massive applause from the thousands of fans wrapped around the ceremony, added that Seaver had to be the first Mets player to be so honored.
“There is a reason he was called ‘The Franchise,’ ” Cohen said. “You can’t measure what Tom Seaver meant to this organization. This magnificent statue will be a wonderful daily reminder to Mets fans coming to Citi Field that Tom Seaver is forever a Mets legend.”
