1971 Topps #270 Rico Carty
About Rico Carty
Carty's 1971 cards were printed while he recovered from a fractured knee and ligament damage, suffered December 11, 1970 when he collided with Matty Alou in the Dominican winter league. #62, the National League batting leaders card, lists him first, ahead of Joe Torre and Manny Sanguillen, for his batting-title season. Solo #270 came in the third series. He reported to spring training in a leg brace, and a blood clot in the damaged leg cost him all of 1971.
Rico Carty, a Dominican outfielder from San Pedro de Macoris, played fifteen big-league seasons (1963-1979) for the Braves, Rangers, Cubs, Athletics, Indians and Blue Jays, retiring with a .299 career average, 1,677 hits, 204 home runs and 890 RBI. Signed by Milwaukee out of the 1959 Pan American Games, he broke in with a 1964 rookie season and became a fixture in Atlanta's outfield after the franchise moved south. Carty won the 1970 National League batting title at .366, the majors' best mark since 1957, and was elected to that year's All-Star Game as the first write-in starter in major-league history. His career was repeatedly interrupted by injuries and a bout with tuberculosis that cost him the entire 1968 season, yet he returned to help Atlanta capture the 1969 NL West title, its first division crown. In 1996 he was inducted into the Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame as part of its inaugural class.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 302 | 0 | 5 | 78 | 131 | 55 | 12 | 21 | 0 |
| SGC | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
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
More Rico Carty in this set: #62 League Leaders
Team card: #652 Atlanta Braves
More Atlanta Braves cards:
- #8 Mike McQueen
- #30 Phil Niekro
- #52 Braves 1971 Rookie Stars
- #62 1970 National League Batting Leaders
- #81 Felix Millan
- #88 Hal King
- #147 Bob Priddy
- #173 Gil Garrido
- #194 Mike Lum
- #223 Cecil Upshaw
- #244 Bob Tillman
- #306 Jim Nash
- #346 Lum Harris
- #359 Ron Reed
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1971 Topps #270 card?
It is card #270 of the 752-card 1971 Topps Baseball set, picturing Rico Carty of the Atlanta Braves.
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.