1970 Topps #616 Jim Merritt
About Jim Merritt
Merritt's sixteenth win of 1969, on August 31, moved Cincinnati into a second-place tie with the Dodgers, a half game behind the Giants. He then lost four of his last five decisions, and the final loss, to Houston, eliminated the Reds. Card #616 in the sixth series pictures him with Cincinnati.
Jim Merritt was a tall, lanky left-handed pitcher who spent eleven big-league seasons, mainly with the Minnesota Twins and Cincinnati Reds. The Los Angeles Dodgers signed him out of high school, but the Twins took him in the first-year player draft before his career in the Dodgers' farm system got under way. He worked his way up through Minnesota's minor-league system and debuted in the majors in August 1965, in time to pitch in that fall's World Series. Teammates nicknamed him Bones for his rail-thin 6-foot-3 frame. In 1967 he became one of the better control pitchers in the American League, then peaked with Cincinnati in 1970, making the All-Star team and winning twenty games as the Reds reached the World Series. He spent 1971 and 1972 with the Reds before finishing his career with the Texas Rangers. He finished with an 81-86 record and 932 strikeouts.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 297 | 11 | 72 | 191 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| SGC | 12 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 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: #544 Cincinnati Reds
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- #22 Ray Washburn
- #36 Reds 1970 Rookie Stars
- #61 1969 National League Batting Leaders
- #63 1969 National League RBI Leaders
- #65 1969 National League Home Run Leaders
- #73 Wayne Granger
- #115 Alex Johnson
- #133 Clay Carroll
- #159 Tommy Helms
- #181 Sparky Anderson
- #225 Lee May
- #254 Camilo Pascual
- #283 Angel Bravo
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1970 Topps #616 card?
It is card #616 of the 720-card 1970 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jim Merritt of the Cincinnati Reds.
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.