Tom Seaver's 300th Win

Sunday, August 4, 1985. Tom seaver pitched a complete game to notch his 300th career win. Tom Terrific was losing 1-0 until an offensive burst in the sixth inning by his teammates resulted in 4 runs. He held off the Yankees for four more half innings to secure his victory and ensure his enshrinement in the Hall of Fame.

Tom gave up only 6 hits and one walk, while striking out 7. This would be one of Tom Terrific's last hurrahs. His career would last for another year and some change, but this would be the last major milestone in an amazing career.

After his 300th win, Tom would finish his career 11-16. He would move on to the Boston Red Sox in the middle of 1986. As much as it looks bad that the White Sox would trade Tom Seaver for Steve Lyons, Tom started off 1986 with a 2-6 record. I can see why the White Sox traded him. Tom still had a wonderful reputation and his trade value would be high for name recognition alone.

Of course, this was just icing on the cake for his 1992 election to the Hall of Fame. Tom holds the record for highest voting percentage in the baseball Hall of Fame history at 98.84%. That's even higher than Nolan Ryan at 98.79%.

The Mets had left Tom off their protected list at the end of the 1983 season. Could this be because of his 9-14 record with his New York homecoming? Possibly. They didn't expect anyone to take Tom. The White Sox were shrewd enough to take advantage of the situation. Tom rebounded with two winning seasons with the Sox, topping it all off with his 300th win.

By 1986, it was clear that Tom was no longer as effective as he used to be. Instead of trying to stick with a bottom rung team, Tom hung up his glove and awaited the call from the Hall. I think it was a wise choice. If he had dragged his career out any further, he may have risked votes.

The mid 80's were not kind to the White Sox, but there were highlights and fond memories. Quite possibly the fondest memory of 1985 was a milestone win from a Hall of Fame pitcher.

1986 Fleer Future Hall Of Famers

I love finding out about oddball inserts. I had no clue about this one until today. This was a six card insert set from Fleer. I'm not exactly sure how this one was randomly distributed (wax pack, cello, etc.), but I never got one.

The checklist is easy and considering 1986 standards, a no brainer. Tom Seaver is the only White Sox card in the set, but since it's an interesting six card set, I'll list all the cards.

1 - Pete Rose
2 - Steve Carlton
3 - Tom Seaver
4 - Rod Carew
5 - Nolan Ryan
6 - Reggie Jackson

Talk about your easy predictions! The only fly in the ointment was Pete Rose getting banned from baseball. If that didn't happen, Fleer would've been six for six. A bold statement at the time would've been including rising stars like Cal Ripken Jr., Ryne Sandberg, Wade Boggs and Kirby Puckett. At this point each of them would've had four years or less of major league experience. The only one on the actual list that I would've debated about in 1986 was Steve Carlton. Not because he didn't deserve it, but because at that point in my life, I wasn't too familiar with him. That would change later in 1986, when he landed on the White Sox.

This is a typical lazy design by Fleer for their inserts around this time. A bold shade of a primary color offset by lighter lines of said primary color. This was followed by a player slapped on top, who was cut out by a Fleer employee's six year old daughter. Then throw a couple of basic geometric shapes on there haphazardly and write something in each of the large shapes. Frank Viola! You have a crappy insert card!