1973 Topps #616 Rookie Pitchers - Norm Angelini / Steve Blateric / Mike Garman
On this card: Norm Angelini, Steve Blateric, Mike Garman
About this card
Cards #601-616 are the sixteen three-player 1973 Rookies cards, each titled by position. A Rookies card is a rookie card for the players on it who had no earlier Topps flagship card, and the rookie-card answer on each card names the players it counts for.
The story on this card
Angelini struck out 16 batters in 16 innings for Kansas City in 1972, finishing 2-1 with a 2.25 ERA and 2 saves. His 1973 Topps rookie card, #616, is a high number from the fifth series. It shows him with the Royals alongside Steve Blateric of the Yankees and Mike Garman of the Red Sox. Angelini added 7 relief appearances and 1 save for Kansas City in 1973. Norm Angelini was a left-handed Royals reliever who recorded a 2.75 ERA in 28 major league games. At Washington State, he struck out 18 Idaho batters in his final college appearance in 1969.
Blateric's only Yankees appearance in 1972 lasted 4 innings, with 4 strikeouts. Cincinnati had sent him to New York on September 16, 1972, and received him back on March 3, 1973. Topps kept the Yankees identification on his 1973 rookie card, #616, a high number from the fifth series. The Rookie Pitchers trio also listed Norm Angelini with Kansas City and Mike Garman with Boston. Steve Blateric pitched in 5 major league games for Cincinnati, New York and California, striking out 13 batters in 11 innings. He later spent 6 seasons as Sonoma State's head baseball coach.
Garman is the Red Sox member of the three-man card #616, with Norm Angelini of the Royals and Steve Blateric of the Yankees, in the fifth series, a high number. In 1972 he made three Boston appearances, one a start against Detroit in which four of the five batters he faced reached base. He went 0-1 with a 10.80 ERA in 3 1/3 innings. Mike Garman was a right-handed reliever drafted third overall by Boston in 1967. He pitched for the Red Sox, Cardinals, Cubs, Dodgers and Expos from 1969 to 1978 and recorded 42 saves.
Sources: Wikipedia (Norm Angelini) · Wikipedia (Steve Blateric) · Wikipedia (Mike Garman) · SABR BioProject · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 231 | 2 | 57 | 130 | 29 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| SGC | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 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 cards: #347 Kansas City Royals, #556 New York Yankees, #596 Boston Red Sox
More Kansas City Royals cards:
- #22 Ted Abernathy
- #48 Paul Splittorff
- #78 Richie Scheinblum
- #99 Carl Taylor
- #118 John Mayberry
- #140 Lou Piniella
More New York Yankees cards:
- #1 All-Time Home Run Leaders
- #25 Roy White
- #46 Lindy McDaniel
- #68 1972 Leading Firemen
- #82 Fritz Peterson
- #103 Celerino Sanchez
More Boston Red Sox cards:
- #14 Sonny Siebert
- #40 Reggie Smith
- #65 1972 Earned Run Average Leaders
- #69 Phil Gagliano
- #96 Doug Griffin
- #114 Lynn McGlothen
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1973 Topps #616 card?
It is card #616 of the 660-card 1973 Topps Baseball set, picturing Norm Angelini, Steve Blateric and Mike Garman. Cards #601-616 are the sixteen three-player 1973 Rookies cards, each titled by position. A Rookies card is a rookie card for the players on it who had no earlier Topps flagship card, and the rookie-card answer on each card names the players it counts for.
Is 1973 Topps #616 a rookie card?
Yes - #616 is the rookie card of Norm Angelini and Steve Blateric. Mike Garman had already appeared on an earlier Topps card, so it is not his rookie card.
Why is #616 harder to find?
It is a high number card from the fifth and last print series, #529-660 - the scarce end of the set.
How many cards are in the 1973 Topps Baseball set?
660 cards, tracked as 679 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 660 with none skipped, in five series of 132 - #1-132, #133-264, #265-396, #397-528 and the high numbers, #529-660, printed in lower quantities; 19 cards carry catalogued print variations that the master set counts separately - fifteen Field Leaders cards, the #20 Stan Bahnsen, #31 Buddy Bell and #504 Earl Williams border-gap pairs and the two #280 Al Kaline printings.
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.