D-backs honor former GM with ‘Kevin’s Tower’ suite at Chase FIeld
Apr 20, 2018, 7:23 PM | Updated: Jul 30, 2018, 1:59 pm
PHOENIX – The Arizona Diamondbacks honored the memory of former general manager Kevin Towers on Friday by officially naming the suite at Chase Field in which he used to sit “Kevin’s Tower.”
Tears were paired with hugs as team president Derrick Hall, team owner Ken Kendrick and D-backs front office members unveiled the suite in the press box to Kevin Towers’ wife Kelley and members of the media, which honors the team’s late general manager with a plaque and memorable photos of KT’s time with the team.
“We’re going to unveil a plaque and we’re going to show all of you where he would hang out and participate in what we all get to do, and that’s to bring joy to the lives of lots of people,” Kendrick said prior to unveiling the suite.
“And as a part of doing that, we get to bring some joy to ourselves. And there was no one who was more joyous at what we do than KT,“ Kendrick said.
The D-backs will be also be honoring KT on Aug. 2 when the team will wear a patch in his memory while celebrating the 2011 NL West Division championship they won while he was the team’s general manager.
In memory of former #Dbacks GM Kevin Towers, the booth KT watched the games from was officially dedicated as “Kevin’s Tower” today. pic.twitter.com/PURLhfeWju
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) April 21, 2018
But Hall said that they wanted a more permanent way to honor Towers, which is what led to naming his favorite place in the ballpark after him.
“This was his home, so we wanted a way where we could see his smiling face each and every day,” Hall said prior to showing off the remodeled suite. “And that’s why today we’re renaming the box that he sat in every day ‘Kevin’s Tower.’”
The suite isn’t just KT’s in name. In a moving gesture, Hall invited Kelley to use the suite whenever she wants, making the box her home at Chase Field as well.
Iconic moments of his time with the team and even pictures from Kendrick’s personal scrapbook made their way into frames on the walls and were presented to Kelley as those who knew him celebrated his life and the memories they made together.
It was fitting that this dedication ceremony fell on a night where the D-backs were playing the San Diego Padres. Towers pitched in the Padres system for seven years before becoming a scout for the organization and eventually general manager from 1995 to 2009.
The Padres won four NL West titles and an NL pennant in 1998 under Towers. Towers then came to Arizona and orchestrated the D-backs’ run to the NL West Division title in 2011 after the team finished in last place the prior season.
The dedication ceremony allowed friends and loved ones to share their stories about KT and the way he impacted so many lives, and ‘Kevin’s Tower’ will be a place where his legacy and those memories will live on.
