Infinite's 2018 Winter Sports Auction

In the media circus that is New York, perhaps only Joe Namath was bigger and more beloved than Tom Seaver in the 1960’s and 70’s. Seaver will forever be remembered as the engine behind the World Champion Miracle Mets of 1969 and the NL Pennant Winners of 1973. A power pitcher who backed down to no batter, Seaver brought pride and attitude to a Mets team that had been the laughingstock of the sports world at the beginning of the 60’s. “Tom Terrific” will forever remain the symbol of Mets greatness from the team’s finest moment in history. There have been other championships, other pennants, and other great pitchers, but none mean more to New York than number forty-one. High Number. High Grade. High Value. The fact that Seaver’s rookie card appeared in the final, high number series of 1967 comes as no surprise. The fact that so few high grade Seaver rookies survived is, however, a bit more surprising. Of the 2,704 total Seaver rookies graded by PSA and SGC, a mere three (3) GEM MINT 10’s exist. Even more astonishing, only 86 MINT 9’s have been graded – that’s only 3%, an incredibly low figure for a Hall of Famers card released in the late 1960’s, even a high number. Over the years, we’ve seen many MINT 9’s and many GEM MINT 10’s here at Goodwin & Company. We can’t see why this card was held to a MINT 9. It is as perfect as any card you will ever find. The colors glow intensely, as if they just left the printing press. The white borders are as pure as the Matterhorn’s snow cap. The corners could easily slice through “The Butterknife Steak” at Murray’s Steakhouse in Minneapolis. And the card’s centering is the equivalent of an absolute bulls-eye. So all we can ask is, “Why the 9?” If you win the auction, push for a re-grade! Modern Baseball’s Prototype Power Pitcher Seaver broke the traditional mold for pitchers and ushered in a new era. A power pitcher with massive, strong legs, which he used to drive himself forward through the pitch, Seaver changed the way scouts looked at pitchers . . . and the way pitchers looked at themselves. Intelligent and articulate, Seaver was meant for the Mets. Yet, he was dealt to Cincinnati in one of the worst trades in New York history. Certain players should stay with teams forever – Seaver was one of those players, even though he wasn’t allowed the privilege of remaining in New York for his entire career. So consider the ultimate Miracle Met, in his earliest Topps issue. Your odds of finding a better example are only slightly better than 1,000:1.