1970 Topps #557 Ed Kranepool
About Ed Kranepool
Kranepool hit .238 with 11 home runs and 49 RBI in 1969. Two of the homers came in one game against the Dodgers, part of an 11-game Mets winning streak that followed a five-game losing streak. Sixth-series #557 lists him with New York. In 1970 he was batting .118 on June 23 when he was sent to Tidewater, where he hit .310 in 47 games. He was back by mid-August and finished at .170 in 43 big league games.
Ed Kranepool was born November 8, 1944, in the Bronx and starred at James Monroe High School before the expansion Mets signed him on June 27, 1962 for an $80,000 bonus. He debuted that September 22 at seventeen and was still on the roster in 1979 as the last man left from the original 1962 Mets. A left-handed first baseman who also worked the outfield, he spent all eighteen of his major league seasons in New York. He remains the Mets' all-time leader in games played with 1,853, and he finished with 1,418 hits and 118 home runs. He was New York's lone All-Star representative in 1965 and homered in Game Three of the 1969 World Series, then reached the Series again with the 1973 National League champions. From 1974 through 1978 'Steady Eddie' hit .396 as a pinch hitter. His 17-for-35 in 1974 gave him a .486 mark, still the major league single-season record for pinch-hit average over 30 at-bats. He later worked as a stockbroker and restaurateur, joined the New York Mets Hall of Fame in 1990, and died September 8, 2024, in Boca Raton, Florida.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac · MLB.com · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 213 | 2 | 22 | 128 | 40 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 0 |
| SGC | 11 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 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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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1970 Topps #557 card?
It is card #557 of the 720-card 1970 Topps Baseball set, picturing Ed Kranepool of the New York Mets.
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.