1973 Topps #199 Bert Blyleven
About Bert Blyleven
In 1972 Blyleven went 17-17 with a 2.73 ERA as Minnesota finished 77-77. Over 287 1/3 innings he struck out 228. He had fallen to 10-15 by August 19, throwing across his body and landing on his left heel, then posted a 1.45 ERA over his last nine starts after working on his mechanics with new manager Frank Quilici and pitching coach Al Worthington. This is Topps #199, a second-series card.
Bert Blyleven was a right-handed starter whose curveball carried him to 287 wins, 3,701 strikeouts and a 3.31 ERA over 22 seasons, pitching for the Twins, Rangers, Pirates, Indians and Angels. Born Rik Aalbert Blijleven in Zeist, Netherlands, he became the first Netherlands-born player inducted into the Hall of Fame, elected in 2011 on his 14th ballot with 79.7 percent of the vote. He debuted with Minnesota at 19 in 1970. He won World Series rings with Pittsburgh in 1979 and Minnesota in 1987, went 19-7 for Cleveland in 1984, and in 1985 completed 24 games over 293 2/3 innings. He became the tenth member of the 3,000-strikeout club in 1986, and his 60 career shutouts rank ninth all-time. His first two full seasons back in Minnesota, 1986 and 1987, produced major-league records of 50 home runs allowed in a season and 96 over two seasons. A dugout prankster who set teammates' shoelaces on fire, he was known as the Frying Dutchman. After retiring he called Twins television games from 1996 to 2020, and the club retired his number on July 16, 2011.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 631 | 3 | 129 | 301 | 91 | 55 | 30 | 22 | 0 |
| SGC | 78 | 1 | 5 | 18 | 28 | 13 | 5 | 8 | 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: #654 Minnesota Twins
More Minnesota Twins cards:
- #16 Steve Braun
- #49 Twins Field Leaders
- #61 1972 Batting Leaders
- #80 Tony Oliva
- #98 Dick Woodson
- #122 Jim Strickland
- #148 Dave Goltz
- #170 Harmon Killebrew
- #228 Bobby Darwin
- #259 Jim Holt
- #284 Glenn Borgmann
- #311 Joe Decker
- #330 Rod Carew
- #353 Steve Brye
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1973 Topps #199 card?
It is card #199 of the 660-card 1973 Topps Baseball set, picturing Bert Blyleven of the Minnesota Twins.
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.