1973 Topps #627 Luis Alvarado
About Luis Alvarado
Chicago acquired Eddie Leon after the 1972 season, and Leon started 119 games at shortstop, leaving Alvarado to appear in 80 games, only 18 of them at short. He mostly spelled Jorge Orta at second base and hit .232 with 20 RBIs. Rookie Bucky Dent, 21, was Leon's primary backup. That winter Alvarado was with Caguas, the Puerto Rican league champion, which represented Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Series and won the title under manager Bobby Wine. His card is #627, a high number from the fifth series.
Luis Alvarado was a Puerto Rican infielder who spent nine seasons in the majors between 1968 and 1977, mostly at shortstop and second base, with the Red Sox, White Sox, Cardinals, Indians, Mets and Tigers. He was called Pimba from early childhood, when he called avocados by that name and his mother adopted it. His reputation rested on his glove and a quick release; one press guide said the ball seemed to bounce from his glove to his throwing hand as if on a string. Scout Pedro Vasquez signed him as a teenager for a $1,000 bonus. At Triple-A Louisville in 1969 he led the International League in runs with 89 and hits with 166 and was named both its Rookie of the Year and its MVP. His big-league debut came on September 13, 1968, at Fenway Park against Minnesota, when his first at-bat produced an RBI single. On December 1, 1970, Boston sent him and Mike Andrews to the White Sox for Luis Aparicio. He finished with a .214 average, five home runs and 84 RBIs in 463 games, then played in the Mexican League. He died in Lajas in 2001.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 213 | 2 | 51 | 131 | 19 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| SGC | 8 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 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: #481 Chicago White Sox
More Chicago White Sox cards:
- #20 Stan Bahnsen
- #42 Mike Andrews
- #62 1972 Home Run Leaders
- #63 1972 Runs Batted In Leaders
- #66 1972 Victory Leaders
- #73 Ed Herrmann
- #105 Carlos May
- #129 Terry Forster
- #150 Wilbur Wood
- #174 Rich Gossage
- #194 Jorge Orta
- #238 Tony Muser
- #261 Pat Kelly
- #287 Eddie Leon
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1973 Topps #627 card?
It is card #627 of the 660-card 1973 Topps Baseball set, picturing Luis Alvarado of the Chicago White Sox.
Why is #627 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.