#480 Tom Seaver - New York Mets

George Thomas Seaver
New York Mets
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  195
Born:  November 17, 1944, Fresno, CA
Signed:  Signed by the New York Mets as an amateur free agent, April 3, 1966
Major League Teams:  New York Mets 1967-1977; Cincinnati Reds 1977-1982; New York Mets 1983; Chicago White Sox 1984-1986; Boston Red Sox 1986

World Series Appearances:  New York Mets 1969, 1973
Died:  August 31, 2020, Calistoga, CA (age 75)
Hall of Fame Induction:  1992

The greatest pitcher in Mets franchise history, Tom Seaver earned the nicknames Tom Terrific and The Franchise as one of the most dominant pitchers in the game between 1967 and the late 1970s.  Seaver was a 16-game winner for the Mets in 1967, leading to his Rookie of the Year win.  He was a 12-time All-Star, making the team in nine of ten years between 1967 and 1977.  Seaver was a 25-game winner in 1969, leading the Mets to a World Series victory and winning the first of his three Cy Young Awards.  He'd win the award again in 1973, perhaps his best season statistically, and 1975.  A three-time wins leader, three-time ERA leader and five-time strikeout leader, Seaver is at the top of most pitching categories in Mets franchise history.  He recorded at least 200 strikeouts in 10 seasons, attaining a career-high with 289 strikeouts in 1971.

Traded to the Reds in June 1977, Seaver continued his success with a no-hitter against the Cardinals on June 16, 1978.  Pitching into his 40s, he had two last solid seasons for the White Sox in 1984 and 1985, winning 15 and 16 games respectively.  Seaver retired in 1986 after 16 starts for the Red Sox.  He was a first ballot Hall of Famer in 1992, inducted by the highest percentage of votes ever attained.  Seaver earned a lifetime record of 311-205 with a 2.86 ERA, 231 complete games, 61 shutouts (seventh all-time) and 3,640 strikeouts (sixth all-time).  His #41 was retired by the Mets in 1988, and he's a member of both the New York Mets and Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fames.

Building the Set / Card #274
September 23, 2023 from The Philly Show (Ed's Old Baseball Cards)
Given the massive haul of 193 cards acquired for our 1969 Topps set at the March Philly Show, I held off on adding more cards throughout the summer of 2023.  We weren't even going to go to the Philly Show last September, but our oldest son's baseball tournament was rained out, and we found ourselves with a free weekend.  I wrote about the show originally over at The Phillies Room.

I added just 15 cards to our set build at this show, all from the same dealer, Ed's Old Baseball Cards out of the Buffalo area.  Technically, the cards I bought were from Ed's associate, Gary, who explained he was along for the ride and brought a bunch of his vintage cards for sale.  I picked four needed star cards, including this Seaver card.  Gary gave us a nice discount on the purchase, so we went back after securing a few autographs and I picked 11 more commons and semi-stars from his modest selection of 1960s Topps cards for sale.  Posting for these 15 cards should take me a lot less longer than what it took to get through the box of cards brought home from the March 2023 Philly Show.

The Card / Mets Team Set / Accuracy Index +1

Collectors had already seen this exact same photo on Seaver's 1968 Topps card.  The back of the card highlights his young career, which at this point consisted of only two seasons with the Mets.  His performance in the 1967 All-Star Game is noted.  Tied 1-1 heading into the 15th, Tony Perez (#295) hit a home run off Catfish Hunter (#235) to give the National League the lead.  Seaver pitched a scoreless bottom of the 15th to earn the save.

Topps reprinted this card in its 2022 Topps Archives and Topps Archives Reserve sets, and again in its 2011 Topps 60 Years of Topps insert set.

Accuracy Index:  Great card, but Seaver's score drops to +1 as Topps had used the photo before.

Inserts:  Seaver is one of 48 decals in the Topps Decals insert set.

1969 Season
A star the prior two seasons, this was the season Seaver established himself as a superstar.  He was 25-7 with a 2.21 ERA as the ace for the Amazin' Mets.  Over half of his 35 starts resulted in complete games (18) and he also tossed five shutouts.  He was 1-1 in the World Series, losing Game 1, but pitching a 10-inning complete game victory in Game 4.  Seaver was the nearly unanimous choice for the National League Cy Young, receiving 23 of 24 first place votes.  Phil Niekro (#355), who was 23-13, earned the hold-out first place vote.

1967 Topps #581

1968 Topps #45

1973 Topps #350

1978 Topps #450

1987 Topps #425

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1967 Topps #581
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (22):  1967-1987, 2001
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2024 Topps Heritage Baseball Flashbacks #BF-7
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  2,557 in the Beckett online database as of 4/14/24.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia

National Baseball Hall of Fame
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database

#479 Richie Scheinblum - Cleveland Indians / #481 Bill Melton - Chicago White Sox