1970 Topps #402 Ellie Rodriguez
About Ellie Rodriguez
Under new manager Charlie Metro, who declared he wanted Ellie Rodriguez to catch every day in 1970, Rodriguez started 36 of the 52 games Metro managed. He finished the year with 52 hits in 231 at-bats and 1 home run. His #402 lists him with Kansas City and comes from the fourth series.
Eliseo Rodriguez, known to fans as Ellie Rodriguez, was a Puerto Rican catcher who played nine major league seasons from 1968 to 1976 for the Yankees, Royals, Brewers, Angels and Dodgers. Born in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, he moved with his family to New York City as a boy and grew up idolizing Yankees catcher Yogi Berra before signing with the Kansas City Athletics organization out of James Monroe High School. After debuting with the Yankees in 1968, he became a regular in the 1969 Royals expansion season and earned two All-Star selections, in 1969 with Kansas City and 1972 with Milwaukee, where he hit a career-high .285. Catching for the California Angels in 1974, he tied an American League record with 19 putouts in a nine-inning game and set another with 21 putouts in an extra-inning game, and he later caught one of Nolan Ryan's no-hitters. He finished his career with the Dodgers in 1976, later playing and managing in the Mexican League and coaching young players in Puerto Rico.
Sources: SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 295 | 18 | 88 | 157 | 25 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 8 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 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: #422 Kansas City Royals
More Kansas City Royals cards:
- #16 Charlie Metro
- #37 Dick Drago
- #57 Pat Kelly
- #89 Juan Rios
- #108 Tom Burgmeier
- #165 Ed Kirkpatrick
- #187 Mike Hedlund
- #222 Jim Rooker
- #241 Royals 1970 Rookie Stars
- #266 Wally Bunker
- #321 Lou Piniella
- #338 Paul Schaal
- #354 Amos Otis
- #377 Bill Butler
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1970 Topps #402 card?
It is card #402 of the 720-card 1970 Topps Baseball set, picturing Ellie Rodriguez of the Kansas City Royals.
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.