1973 Topps #334 Freddie Patek
About Freddie Patek
Patek drew the first walk, stole the first base and scored the first run at Royals Stadium on April 10, 1973. He adjusted to its artificial turf by playing deeper and closer to parallel with the third baseman. In 135 games at shortstop, he stole 36 bases and scored 82 runs. His Kansas City card was third-series Topps #334.
Freddie Patek played shortstop for the Pirates, Royals and Angels over 14 major-league seasons. Listed at 5 feet 5 inches, he played baseball in the Air Force before Pittsburgh drafted him in the 22nd round in 1965. His father's illness brought a hardship discharge, and the Pirates let him attend to family business before beginning his professional career the following spring. Pittsburgh announcer Bob Prince called him the Cricket, a nickname fans echoed with metal noisemakers when he batted. Patek finished with 1,340 hits, 385 stolen bases and a .242 average. With California on June 20, 1980, he hit 3 home runs against Boston at Fenway Park. After retiring, he worked on Texas Rangers television broadcasts in 1985.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 201 | 6 | 64 | 102 | 22 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 6 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 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: #347 Kansas City Royals
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- #251 Roger Nelson
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1973 Topps #334 card?
It is card #334 of the 660-card 1973 Topps Baseball set, picturing Freddie Patek of the Kansas City Royals.
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.