#19 Baseball Player is a public sculpture by French-American artist Niki de Saint Phalle, created in 1999.
The sculpture portrays a baseball batter in a stance. The figure is made of vibrant mosaic tiles and is part of the artistâÂÂs "Black Heroes" series, inspired by San Diego Padres right fielder Tony Gwynn.
The sculpture was unveiled in May 2015, in a public exhibition in downtown San Diego, on loan from the Niki Charitable Art Foundation for a period of up to twelve years.
The sculpture is installed outdoors at Waterfront Park. At this location, a total of three sculptures by Niki de Saint Phalle can also be found: Large Seal (Element of Seals), 1999. Followed by "The Serpent Tree" (L'Arbre aux Serpents). The lastly adjacent to the playground is Cat, which is also a play structure.
#19 Baseball Player is one of the many sculptures being installed for the Project by the National Museum of Women in the Arts.
These works was to remain up for one year, before being returned to the artists foundation.
In 2012, #19 Baseball Player was exhibited along Park Avenue in New York City as part of an outdoor installation of sculptures. The exhibition, presented by The Sculpture Committee of The Fund for Park Avenue in collaboration with other city public art organizations.
The Park Avenue installation included several of de Saint PhalleâÂÂs large-scale mosaic sculptures, among them: