Tom Seaver’s widow, Nancy, took the podium just outside Citi Field’s main entrance next to the famed Home Run Apple and stared at the covered statue of her late husband — and for a moment, the wind calmed, the thousands of fans crammed to take a look drifted away, and it was just a still-grieving wife taking in the moment.
“Hello, Tom,” Nancy said through tears. “It’s so nice to see you here where you belong.”
The Mets unveiled their statue of their legendary pitcher, who passed away in August of 2020 at the age of 75, on Friday morning just a few hours before the team’s home opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks — a long-overdue honor of the fireballing right-hander nicknamed “The Franchise” for putting the organization on the map.
He was the first superstar and Baseball Hall of Famer to represent the club, spending a large portion of his 311-win, 2.86 ERA, 3,640-strikeouts, and three-time Cy Young Award-winning career in Queens.
Forever 4️⃣1️⃣. #LGM pic.twitter.com/GtOchbEzGq
— New York Mets (@Mets) April 15, 2022
“When I was a kid and thought of the Mets, I thought of Tom Seaver,” owner Steve Cohen said. ” I could still see the wind-up, his knee dragging in the dirt, the ball exploding out of his hand… Tom led us to our first championship, transformed the Mets, transfixed New York, and won the hearts of Mets fans. Tom Seaver was a great pitcher and an even greater man.”
The statue, designed by William Behrends, is made from granite, bronze, and stainless steel and is two times life-size to scale, measuring 10 feet high and 13.5 feet in length.
