1965 Topps #557 Jose Santiago
About Jose Santiago
This high-number card from the short-print zone, part of print series 7 and a recognized rookie card, captures Santiago with the Kansas City Athletics, though he spent nearly all of the actual 1965 season pitching for the Triple-A Vancouver Mounties after the Athletics optioned him out; his contract was sold to the Boston Red Sox at that season's end.
Jose Santiago was a right-handed pitcher from Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico, who threw an outstanding curveball across eight big-league seasons with the Kansas City Athletics and Boston Red Sox from 1963 to 1970. Originally scouted by the Giants, he returned home and signed with the Athletics for $15,000 after the Giants failed to pay his promised bonus. He broke in against the reigning champion Yankees in September 1963 and worked mostly as a reliever in Kansas City before the Athletics sold his contract to Boston. In Boston he became a key member of the 1967 pennant-winning staff, going 12-4 and starting Game 1 of that year's World Series against Bob Gibson, homering in his first Series plate appearance. An elbow injury suffered in a home-plate collision with his own catcher in 1968 derailed the rest of his career. He later became a longtime Spanish-language play-by-play broadcaster and general manager for the Santurce Crabbers in Puerto Rico.
Sources: Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 422 | 6 | 75 | 210 | 85 | 22 | 21 | 3 | 0 |
| SGC | 15 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Data as of 2026-09-04. Half grades fold down for both graders (8.5→8); PSA qualified slabs (OC, ST, PD, MC and the like) are not counted. The two checklist variations, #79 and #508, are listed under the wording PSA uses for each state.
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Related cards
Team card: #151 Kansas City Athletics
More Kansas City Athletics cards:
- #35 Ed Charles
- #51 Billy Bryan
- #71 John O'Donoghue
- #87 Nelson Mathews
- #117 Wes Stock
- #168 Dick Green
- #197 Diego Segui
- #219 Bob Meyer
- #239 Doc Edwards
- #266 Bert Campaneris
- #286 Athletics 1965 Rookie Stars
- #311 Orlando Pena
- #333 Tommie Reynolds
- #365 Jim Gentile
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1965 Topps #557 card?
It is card #557 of the 598-card 1965 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jose Santiago of the Kansas City Athletics.
Is 1965 Topps #557 a rookie card?
Yes - #557 is the 1965 Topps rookie card of Jose Santiago.
Is 1965 Topps #557 a scarce card?
It is a high number card from the seventh and last series, #507-598. Unlike most 1960s Topps sets the 1965 highs are not scarce as a run - the premium sits on the short-printed cards inside #523-598. It is also a short-print zone card. Forty-four of the 76 cards in #523-598 were short-printed; #507-522 was not. The zone is stated as a range because the catalogs disagree on exactly which cards, so no single card is marked.
How many cards are in the 1965 Topps Baseball set?
598 cards, tracked as 600 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 598 with no gaps and no printed-number collisions, and two checklist cards - #79 and #508 - carry catalogued print variations that the master set counts separately.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, Cardboard Connection, BaseballCardPedia, Baseball Almanac, Baseball-Reference, the SABR BioProject and the National Baseball Hall of Fame, PSA & SGC population reports. Card data compiled and maintained by T206Cards.com. Page last updated 2026-10-11.