1970 Topps #228 Aurelio Rodriguez
About Aurelio Rodriguez
Card #228 comes from the second series and still shows Rodriguez with the Angels, whose new manager Lefty Phillips complained in March 1970 that he would not choke up and spray the ball. Once in Washington he played 142 games, 137 as the starting third baseman. He led all major leaguers with 30 total zone runs and led third basemen with 41 double plays, and his .965 fielding percentage ranked fourth among all basemen, behind leader Graig Nettles.
Aurelio Rodriguez, sometimes called "Chi Chi", was a Mexican-born third baseman who spent 17 major league seasons (1967-1983) with the Angels, Senators, Tigers, Padres, Yankees, White Sox and Orioles, hitting .237 with 124 home runs in 2,017 games. He built his reputation on defense: a powerful throwing arm, a career range factor at third base that ranks second in major league history, and 4,150 career assists at the position, fifth all-time at his retirement. He won his only Gold Glove in 1976, ending Brooks Robinson's long run of American League third base honors. In 1970 with Washington under manager Ted Williams, he set career highs in home runs and RBI. After retiring he managed from 1987 to 1997, mostly in the Mexican League, leading the Sultanes de Monterrey to the 1991 championship, and was inducted into the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 1995. He died in Detroit in 2000 after being struck by a motorist.
Sources: Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 304 | 12 | 71 | 185 | 25 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| SGC | 6 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Data as of 2026-10-19. Half grades fold down for both graders (8.5→8); PSA qualified slabs (OC, ST, PD, MC and the like) are not counted.
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Related cards
Team card: #522 California Angels
More California Angels cards:
- #4 Tom Egan
- #29 Sandy Alomar
- #72 1969 American League Strikeout Leaders
- #74 Angels 1970 Rookie Stars
- #132 Jim McGlothlin
- #156 Eddie Fisher
- #173 Jim Hicks
- #203 Rudy May
- #255 Jim Spencer
- #277 Paul Doyle
- #294 Jose Azcue
- #326 Bill Voss
- #351 Tom Murphy
- #376 Lefty Phillips
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1970 Topps #228 card?
It is card #228 of the 720-card 1970 Topps Baseball set, picturing Aurelio Rodriguez of the California Angels.
How many cards are in the 1970 Topps Baseball set?
720 cards, tracked as 726 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 720 with none skipped, issued in seven series - #1-132, #133-263, #264-372, #373-459, #460-546, #547-633 and the high numbers, #634-720; 6 cards, all of them checklists, carry catalogued print variations that the master set counts separately.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, BaseballCardPedia, Cardboard Connection, 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 2026-10-25.