1971 Topps #344 Ellie Rodriguez
About Ellie Rodriguez
The Royals appear on Rodriguez's #344, a third-series card, though Kansas City had traded him to Milwaukee for Carl Taylor on February 2, 1971. He had caught 75 of his 80 games in 1970 and hit .225; Bob Lemon replaced Charlie Metro as manager on June 9 and platooned him with Ed Kirkpatrick. Back as a regular with the Brewers, he caught 114 games and led the American League in runners caught stealing.
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 | 327 | 0 | 22 | 172 | 103 | 24 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| SGC | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 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: #742 Kansas City Royals
More Kansas City Royals cards:
- #17 Billy Sorrell
- #35 Lou Piniella
- #71 1970 American League Strikeout Leaders
- #91 Bob Lemon
- #103 Rich Severson
- #118 Cookie Rojas
- #129 Aurelio Monteagudo
- #144 Jackie Hernandez
- #163 Buck Martinez
- #187 Ted Abernathy
- #221 Dave Morehead
- #247 Royals 1971 Rookie Stars
- #269 Gail Hopkins
- #299 Ed Kirkpatrick
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1971 Topps #344 card?
It is card #344 of the 752-card 1971 Topps Baseball set, picturing Ellie Rodriguez of the Kansas City Royals.
How many cards are in the 1971 Topps Baseball set?
752 cards, tracked as 761 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 752 with none skipped, issued in six print series (132/131/130/130/120/109 cards), the sixth (#644-752) the high numbers; seven cards carry catalogued print variations that the master set counts separately - the #42, #265 and #306 photo pairs and the #123, #206, #369 and #619 checklists, #369 and #619 in three printings each.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA (its price guide, master set registry and set article), 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.