Perez coming to Great American Ball Park - in bronze

A Reds star soon will appear at Great American Ball Park. And this time, there is no way he can be traded to Montreal.

Slated for an Aug. 22 installation, a bronze statue by local artist Tom Tsuchiya will honor legend Tony Perez.

Tsuchiya is also working on a statue of Chuck Harmon for the Reds Urban Youth Academy in Roselawn. It will be unveiled outside the academy July 10, just ahead of the All Star Game. A plaque in his honor was dedicated at the entrance of Great American Ball Park in 2004.

A native of Cuba, Perez was a key member of the two-time world champion Big Red Machine.

In 2000, the first baseman became a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and remains one of franchise's most beloved players. Perez, who was nicknamed "The Mayor of Riverfront" and "Big Doggie" (or sometimes just "Big Dog" or "Doggie), currently is a special assistant to Miami Marlins president David Samson.

Perez's image will join a prestigious roster of bronze baseball heroes at Great American Ball Park, including Joe Nuxhall, Ernie Lombardi, Ted Kluszewski, Frank Robinson, Johnny Bench and Joe Morgan. Tsuchiya, a University of Cincinnati graduate, created those, too.

The Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame & Museum commissioned the Perez piece, the Reds Community Fund supported the Harmon statue. Tsuchiya declined to disclose the cost of the works.

"I think one of the great things about this sculpture is that (fans) can interact with them," Tsuchiya said. "They can pose with them, be the umpire."

Tsuchiya approaches the project "in a really interesting way," said Rick Walls, executive director of the Hall of Fame & Museum. The statues will take about 10 months to make at Essex Studios in Avondale and will weigh close to 500 pounds.

The scuptor's process, however, starts outside of the studio.Tsuchiya interviews the players multiple times. Making sure he gets their measurements right. And taking his measure of their personality, too.

"He tries to get into their head and come up with the perfect pose," Walls said.

For Perez, it's not just a pose. It's a moment. The statue depicts Perez hitting a home run in Game 7 of the 1975 World Series.

"It was one of the most important hits in Reds history," Walls said.

It changed the momentum of the climatic game, setting the Reds up for the win and for subsequent 1976 success, he said.

The Perez statue, which will be on the sidewalk along Joe Nuxhall Way in front of Crosley Terrace, help tell the story of the city, Walls said.

The World Series champions brought the city to its feet and the community united around these winners, he said. And Cincinnati, as the home of the oldest professional team, is a baseball town.

The sculptures being added at the ball park are a sort of puzzle that's coming together, piece by piece, Walls said.

"The more we do, the more the puzzle comes together, the more you understand the impact that (these players) had on the team, but also the city," he said.

ABOUT CHUCK HARMON

In 1954, Chuck Harmon became the first African-American to play for the Reds. The team was the 11th of the then-16 major league clubs to integrate.

Harmon, who now is 91, played 203 games for the Reds through the 1956 season. After his playing career ended, he was a scout for major league teams.

Known as the "The Glove," Harmon's sculpture depicts him as a third baseman, fielding a ball. "It's a dynamic pose that captures, celebrates (his) spirit," sculptor Tom Tsuchiya said.

Celebrated for his kindness, courage and commitment to the Reds, Harmon received the 2014 Powel Crosley Jr. Award. The Reds have awarded the honor to only six former employees or owners "who have exemplified the Crosley spirit of dedication and devotion to the ongoing success of the Cincinnati Reds during extended careers of service to and achievement with the club," according to the team's website.

"He certainly broke a barrier here and in many ways, continues to do so with his presence," said Rick Walls, executive director of the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame & Museum.

He calls Harmon, a long time resident of Golf Manor, one of "the greatest ambassadors" for the Reds.