When I was a young kid I was awed by Seaver, even though he was a member of the hated Mets, and I always looked forward to his "new card" every year.
More than Nolan Ryan. More than Steve Carlton. Seaver was the epitome of "power pitcher" in my eyes, and year in and year out he never disappointed.
So needless to say, I always loved his cards. That is, all except his 1974 card by Topps (#80). It's not the worst one out there, but as with many others from the '74 set, the photography was so flat and one-dimensional (think of the Carlton Fisk card for another example), it left a lot to be desired.
There's no "space" between subject and background, and it all comes off as one flat image where the player gets lost in the card "action". Another thing I find unique to a lot of the 1974 cards is the seemingly over-saturated color of the photos used. It's as if 1973 (when these photos were taken) was one of the sunniest years in history!
For my "do-over" I wanted an image that really isolated on Seaver and his powerful windup. No background crowd, no infielder readying for the ensuing play. Just the Hall of Famer in his Mets finest.
I found a nice shot of exactly that and used it here, take a look, but not before revisiting what was actually issued first:
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| As-issued: Too much "other stuff", not enough Seaver. |
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| My re-do: A design that focuses on vintage "Tom Terrific". |