similar but terrific tom terrific final tributes

here are the three major release tom seaver cards from 1987 - topps

donruss

and fleer

all feature pretty similar photos of tom terrific, who threw the final pitch of his career for the red sox in 1986.  only one of these 'final tribute' cards dares to show all of seaver's career stats, and that is topps

donruss gives us lots of good info like his ranking on some career stat leader boards, but confuses us by noting that he pitched his no-hitter for the reds/cards in 1978.  but they only give us 5 years of stats.

fleer, for some reason, ignores his first two big league seasons and jumps right into the miracle mets year of 1969 - the first season that seaver won the cy young award

seaver currently sits 6th on the all-time strikeout list and 18th on the wins list for a career.  andy pettitte is closest to him on both lists, but won't catch him.

seaver hurt his knee in or shortly after his final start of the season in game 148, and did not pitch for the red sox in the 1986 postseason.  after the mets rotation suffered a rash of injuries in the early goings of the 1987 season, seaver decided to attempt a comeback with the team.  three weeks or so into the comeback effort, seaver didn't think he was pitching effectively, and retired for good.  i'm glad, because it's unlikely topps or the other manufacturers would have made a card for seaver in 1988.  well, maybe score might have.