SAN DIEGO (AP) — The street corner outside Petco Park's main entrance is now the intersection of Tony Gwynn Drive and Trevor Hoffman Way.
Hoffman, the former closer who was inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 29, helped unveil a street sign bearing his name on Friday afternoon, along with Mayor Kevin Faulconer and executive chairman Ron Fowler
"It's the coolest intersection in San Diego, there's no doubt about it," Faulconer said.
It was the latest honor for Hoffman, who amassed 552 of his NL-record 601 saves with the Padres.
"To have the opportunity to once again be in connection with the great Tony Gwynn, to be at the corner of Petco Park, the front of it, on a chamber of commerce day, I don't think I can elaborate much more on the fact that I'm honored to be again a part of Tony's legacy and commitment that it was to the San Diego Padres," Hoffman said.
The address of Petco Park, which opened in 2004, is 19 Tony Gwynn Drive.
On Aug. 18, the Padres unveiled a statue of Hoffman in the Park beyond center field, just as they unveiled a statue of Gwynn during his Hall of Fame summer of 2007. Gwynn died of cancer in 2014 at age 54.
"It's tough to come up with a better summer than Trevor Hoffman had this year," the former closer cracked.
Each of the honors "in its own right is equally special," Hoffman added. "The statue, obviously the Hall of Fame ceremony was incredible, the parties surrounding it, and now to be able to drive down the street I come in every day and where I finished some of my running when I was player, now named after you is pretty cool."
Hoffman is a special adviser in the Padres' baseball operations department.
Fowler said it was the Padres' idea to rename a one-block of stretch of Park Boulevard for Hoffman, and the City Council approved.
"Naming a street for someone is not something you do every day," Fowler said. "It should be reserved for a special few, and Trevor is among the special few. ... He's right at the top, with Tony. He deserves it. Sort of icing on the cake for the summer he had. But it was fun to have a summer of Trevor."
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Disclaimer: This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Associated Press (AP) wire.
