1970 Topps #245 Leo Cardenas
About Leo Cardenas
Card #245 came in the second series and shows Cardenas with the Twins. In the 1969 ALCS he went 2 for 13 as Baltimore swept Minnesota in three games. In 1970 he again played all 160 games at shortstop, batting .247 with 11 home runs and 65 RBI. The Twins returned to the ALCS, where the Orioles swept them a second time and Cardenas went 2 for 11 with an RBI.
Leonardo Lazaro Cardenas Alfonso was born December 17, 1938 in Matanzas, Cuba, one of 15 children. He came to the United States in 1956 for a $500 bonus, claiming to be 17 -- the minimum age a major-league team could sign -- when he was 16, and he was among the last Cuban players out before the borders were sealed. Playing for the Havana Sugar Kings in 1959, he was hit by a stray bullet when celebrating fans fired rifles in the grandstand. Cardenas reached Cincinnati on July 25, 1960 and held the Reds' shortstop job for seven seasons. His defensive play earned him the nickname Mr. Automatic. Teammates called him Chico, and later Leo. He was a five-time All-Star and won the National League Gold Glove at shortstop in 1965. Traded to Minnesota, he fielded .985 in 1971, the highest mark by an American League shortstop since records began in 1901, and was voted the Twins' most valuable player. He finished with the California Angels, Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers, batting .257 with 1,725 hits and 118 home runs over 16 seasons. Cincinnati voted him into the Reds Hall of Fame in 1981.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac (1) · Baseball Almanac (2) · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 190 | 13 | 35 | 112 | 20 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 7 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 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.
Find this card
Search T206 Cards Shop 1970 Topps cards Live auctions Buy It Now on eBay Sold prices
As an eBay Partner Network affiliate, T206Cards.com may earn from qualifying purchases.
Related cards
Team card: #534 Minnesota Twins
More Minnesota Twins cards:
- #25 Cesar Tovar
- #47 Bob Miller
- #62 1969 American League Batting Leaders
- #64 1969 American League RBI Leaders
- #66 1969 American League Home Run Leaders
- #70 1969 American League Pitching Leaders
- #75 Jim Kaat
- #93 Rick Renick
- #118 George Mitterwald
- #150 Harmon Killebrew
- #169 Tom Hall
- #194 Chuck Manuel
- #226 Ron Perranoski
- #231 Luis Tiant
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1970 Topps #245 card?
It is card #245 of the 720-card 1970 Topps Baseball set, picturing Leo Cardenas of the Minnesota Twins.
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.