Tom Seaver Statue To Be Unveiled Prior To Mets Home Opener

 

Photo by Jason Schott.

The Mets will unveil the highly-anticipated Tom Seaver statue on Friday morning in a pre-game ceremony ahead of their home opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks at 1:10 p.m.

The statue will be located to the right of the Home Run Apple in front of Citi Field, with the ceremony beginning at 10:30 a.m.

Tom Seaver's widow, Nancy, their two daughters, Sarah and Anne; Mets owners Steve and Alex Cohen; and Hall of Fame catcher Mike Piazza will be in attendance.

Sculptor William Behrends was commissioned to design the Seaver statue, which features his iconic drop and drive delivery and is two times life-size to scale. The statue is 10 feet high from the granite pitcher's mound and 13 1/2 feet in length. The total weight of the statue is 3,200 pounds (2,000 pounds of bronze and 1,200 pounds of structural stainless steel). The granite mound came in nine separate pieces that weighed 33,600 pounds and added approximately three feet in height.

Sarah Seaver, Tom's oldest daughter, said in a statement, "This is a wonderful way to celebrate his wonderful years in New York. The Mets have been working on this for years, and to see William Behrends' vision come to fruition is so exciting and very touching. We are thrilled to share this with all the fans who supported Dad throughout his career.

Behrends is known for his depictions of baseball legends, as he designed and sculpted a Willie Mays statue outside Oracle Park in San Francisco, and Tony Gwynn's monument outside PETCO Park in San Diego. He also, for the past 30 years, has sculpted faces onto the Borg-Warner Trophy for winners of the Indianapolis 500.

Tom Seaver pitched for the Mets from 1967 to 1977, with an encore in 1983. He was part of building the franchise up from its tough early years to being an anchor of the Mets pitching staff in their championship season in 1969. Seaver won three Cy Young Awards, in 1969, 1973, and 1975. The Mets won the National League pennant in 1973, so two of his Cy Youngs came in years the Mets were in the World Series. He won 311 games in his career, with 198 of them coming with the Mets.

"There is a reason he was called 'The Franchise'," Mets Chairman, CEO, and Owner Steve Cohen said in a statement. "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."

The Mets will unveil the highly-anticipated Tom Seaver statue on Friday morning in a pre-game ceremony ahead of their home opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks at 1:10 p.m.

The statue will be located to the right of the Home Run Apple in front of Citi Field, with the ceremony beginning at 10:30 a.m.

Tom Seaver's widow, Nancy, their two daughters, Sarah and Anne; Mets owners Steve and Alex Cohen; and Hall of Fame catcher Mike Piazza will be in attendance.

Sculptor William Behrends was commissioned to design the Seaver statue, which features his iconic drop and drive delivery and is two times life-size to scale. The statue is 10 feet high from the granite pitcher's mound and 13 1/2 feet in length. The total weight of the statue is 3,200 pounds (2,000 pounds of bronze and 1,200 pounds of structural stainless steel). The granite mound came in nine separate pieces that weighed 33,600 pounds and added approximately three feet in height.

Sarah Seaver, Tom's oldest daughter, said in a statement, "This is a wonderful way to celebrate his wonderful years in New York. The Mets have been working on this for years, and to see William Behrends' vision come to fruition is so exciting and very touching. We are thrilled to share this with all the fans who supported Dad throughout his career.

Behrends is known for his depictions of baseball legends, as he designed and sculpted a Willie Mays statue outside Oracle Park in San Francisco, and Tony Gwynn's monument outside PETCO Park in San Diego. He also, for the past 30 years, has sculpted faces onto the Borg-Warner Trophy for winners of the Indianapolis 500.

Tom Seaver pitched for the Mets from 1967 to 1977, with an encore in 1983. He was part of building the franchise up from its tough early years to being an anchor of the Mets pitching staff in their championship season in 1969. Seaver won three Cy Young Awards, in 1969, 1973, and 1975. The Mets won the National League pennant in 1973, so two of his Cy Youngs came in years the Mets were in the World Series. He won 311 games in his career, with 198 of them coming with the Mets.

"There is a reason he was called 'The Franchise'," Mets Chairman, CEO, and Owner Steve Cohen said in a statement. "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."

SATURDAY PROMOTION: The first 25,000 fans attending Saturday's Mets game against Arizona will receive a Tom Seaver Replica Statue. First pitch is set for 1:10 p.m.