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The New York Mets announced today that Citi Field’s address will officially change to 41 Seaver Way on June 27. The Mets and the City of New York will hold a ceremony at 11:00am on Thursday to honor The Franchise and officially rename 126th Street between Roosevelt Avenue and Northern Boulevard to Seaver Way.
The Mets originally announced the address change back in March, prior to the start of the 2019 season. The news came shortly after it was revealed that the Mets legend had been diagnosed with dementia and would be retiring from public life. Seaver’s children and his grandchildren will be on hand for the ceremony, will teammates Jerry Koosman, Cleon Jones, and Ron Swoboda, who played alongside him on the 1969 World Series championship team. Mets’ COO Jeff Wilpon will also be present on Thursday.
The ceremony is open to the public, and fans are encouraged to arrive at 10:00am for the event. For fans who are driving to Citi Field, free parking will be available in Lot A. The team is asking everyone to enter via Shea Road, since 126th Street/Seaver Way will be closed off for the ceremony.
Seaver played for the Mets from 1967-1977 and then again in 1983. During his time with the team, he won National League Rookie of the Year honors (1967) and three Cy Young Awards (1969, 1973, 1975) while being named to nine All Star teams. He holds several Mets career records, including ERA (2.57), wins (198), WHIP (1.08), innings pitched (3,045.1), strikeouts (2,541), games started (395), complete games (171), and shutouts (44), as well as the single-season records for wins (25), strikeouts (289), complete games (21), and innings pitched (290.2).
The naming ceremony will kick off a weekend of games against the Atlanta Braves that will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1969 champions. On Friday night, all fans in attendance will receive a 1969 replica jersey. On Saturday, the first 15,000 fans will receive a 1969 World Series champions pennant, and an on-field ceremony will take place beginning at 3:30pm with several members of that team in attendance. The first 15,000 fans who arrive for the Sunday night game will receive a replica ring from the championship.