Tom Seaver diagnosed with Dementia

The last time we saw Tom Seaver, he was on hand at Citi Field for the 40th anniversary of the 1969 World Champions. With the 50th Anniversary celebration expected to take place later this summer, Seaver won't be there -- retiring from public life after being diagnosed with dementia. 

A statement was released by Seaver's family asking for privacy as the 74-year Hall of Famer will stay home in California. 

"Tom will continue to work in his beloved vineyard at his California home, but has chosen to completely retire from public life. The family is deeply appreciative of those who have supported Tom throughout his career, on and off the field, and who do so now by honoring his request for privacy," the statement read.

The Mets will honor the legendary pitcher by other means while his teammates reunite on June 29.  

However not having Seaver in the mix will certainly be a void for Mets fans old enough to remember how important he was to the first championship squad in Mets history.

A winner of 311 games and owner of 3,640 strikeouts, Seaver was -- and in some ways still is  -- the face of the franchise. He spearheaded a rotation that featured Jerry Koosman, Gary Gentry and a 22-year old Nolan Ryan to become one of the National League's best staffs in 1969. The Mets would shock the Chicago Cubs in the National League East, overcoming a midseason deficit to top the Cubs by eight games by the end of the season. The Mets later swept the Atlanta Braves in the NLCS when the series was still a Best-of-Five, before stunning Earl Weaver's heavily favored Baltimore Orioles in five games in the World Series, with Seaver posting a critical victory in Game 4 of the Fall Classic. 

Seaver was at his very best in 1969, winning 25 games, while posting an ERA of 2.21 in 36 games with 18 complete games. Before the heartbreaking trade that sent Tom Terrific to the Reds in 1977, Seaver amassed 191 wins as a Met, and firmly entrenched himself as the best pitcher in franchise history. 

Ironically, Seaver was still an active pitcher in 1986, this time with the Boston Red Sox, but was not on the active roster for the Sox during the Fall Classic when the Mets captured their second world championship in dramatic fashion. 

Seaver retired after that season, but would return to Queens in 1988 to have his number 41 retired by the Mets. Seaver was the lone Met player to have his number retired until Mike Piazza's number 31 was retired in 2017. Piazza and Seaver are the only players to have a Mets hat on on their Hall of Fame plaque. 

For fans of this generation, they may remember Seaver best as a color commentator for Mets games on WPIX Channel 11, a position he served from 1999 to 2005 calling games with Gary Thorne and Howie Rose.