1968 Topps #582 Jerry Grote
About Jerry Grote
Grote had his finest offensive season to that point in 1968, hitting .282 with three home runs and 31 RBIs, and was chosen to start behind the plate for the National League in the All-Star Game, becoming just the second Met to earn a starting All-Star role. Card number 582, a high number in the seventh series, pictures him with the New York Mets.
Gerald Wayne Grote was a catcher from San Antonio, Texas who played sixteen major league seasons from 1963 to 1981 for the Houston Colt .45s/Astros, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers and Kansas City Royals. After splitting time behind the plate in Houston, he was traded to the Mets in October 1965 and became their regular catcher from 1966 through 1977. Grote earned two All-Star selections, in 1968 and 1974, and built a reputation as one of the finest defensive catchers of his era, known for a strong throwing arm and a knack for handling young pitching staffs including Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman. He caught every inning of the Mets' 1969 postseason run, helping the club upset the Baltimore Orioles in the World Series, and returned to the World Series again in 1973 and with the Dodgers in 1977 and 1978. He finished his career with a .252 batting average over 1,421 games.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 435 | 14 | 117 | 225 | 48 | 15 | 8 | 8 | 0 |
| SGC | 41 | 0 | 9 | 15 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 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. Slabs of the yellow team-letter #49 and #66 are 1968 Milton Bradley game cards and are not counted here.
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Related cards
Team card: #401 New York Mets
More New York Mets cards:
- #27 Gil Hodges
- #45 Tom Seaver
- #63 Dick Kenworthy
- #92 Ed Kranepool
- #114 Ron Swoboda
- #132 Bud Harrelson
- #177 Mets 1968 Rookie Stars
- #191 Dan Frisella
- #211 J.C. Martin
- #236 Tug McGraw
- #254 Cleon Jones
- #277 Jerry Buchek
- #292 Art Shamsky
- #313 Al Weis
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1968 Topps #582 card?
It is card #582 of the 598-card 1968 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jerry Grote of the New York Mets.
Is 1968 Topps #582 a scarce card?
It is a high number card from the seventh print series, #534-598, by the checklist-card division. The last two series together (#458-598) carry only a modest premium; no short-print list exists.
How many cards are in the 1968 Topps Baseball set?
598 cards, tracked as 606 collectible states. The numbers run from 1 to 598 without a gap and no printed number carries two different cards; eight cards - six of the seven checklists, #10 AL Pitching Leaders and #400 Mike McCormick - carry a catalogued print variation that the master set counts separately.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, Cardboard Connection, BaseballCardPedia, Baseball Almanac, Beckett, 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 2026-10-12.