1973 Topps #257 Mets Field Leaders - Yogi Berra / Roy McMillan / Joe Pignatano / Rube Walker / Eddie Yost
On this card: Yogi Berra, Roy McMillan, Joe Pignatano, Rube Walker, Eddie Yost
About this card
Managers appear only on the 24 Field Leaders cards, one for each club: each pictures the manager with three or four of his coaches, and there is no solo manager card. Fifteen of the 24 come in two printings. Thirteen include a Hall of Famer, among them coaches Ernie Banks (#81 Cubs), Warren Spahn (#449 Indians) and Bill Mazeroski (#517 Pirates), and the Dodgers' Walt Alston and Tom Lasorda (#569).
About Mets Field Leaders (Yogi Berra / Roy McMillan / Joe Pignatano / Rube Walker / Eddie Yost)
Berra took over the Mets in spring 1972 after Gil Hodges died unexpectedly, and the club finished third at 83-73. Card #257 is the second-series Mets managers-and-coaches card, shared with Roy McMillan, Joe Pignatano, Rube Walker and Eddie Yost. Midway through 1973 the Mets sat in last place, and when a reporter asked in July whether the season was over, Berra replied, "It ain't over 'til it's over." They won the NL East at 82-79. Yankees catcher Yogi Berra hit the first pinch-hit home run in World Series history in 1947, batting for Sherm Lollar against Brooklyn's Ralph Branca in Game 3 at Ebbets Field.
Roy McMillan had been a Milwaukee Brewers coach since 1970 and managed the club for two games in 1972, winning one, in the gap between Dave Bristol and Del Crandall. Topps put him on #257, a second-series managers and coaches card of the New York Mets, alongside Yogi Berra, Joe Pignatano, Rube Walker and Eddie Yost. He joined the Mets staff in 1973. Cincinnati Reds shortstop nicknamed "Mr. Shortstop" for his glove work, McMillan won three straight Gold Gloves (1957-1959) and made two All-Star teams as one of the top defensive shortstops of his era.
Pignatano was on the Mets coaching staff in 1972, the year Gil Hodges died. Looking back, he said: "We lost a good man. Life went on and baseball went on." Card #257, from the second series, is a five-man Mets card shared with Yogi Berra, Roy McMillan, Rube Walker and Eddie Yost. Brooklyn-born catcher who backed up John Roseboro on the pennant-winning 1959 Dodgers, finished with Kansas City, San Francisco and New York, then coached for the Senators, Mets and Braves, including the bullpen of the 1969 champions.
Walker was in the golfing foursome with Gil Hodges before the Mets manager died on April 2, 1972. Yogi Berra kept Walker in charge of the pitching staff. The two shared second-series 1973 Topps #257 with Roy McMillan, Joe Pignatano and Eddie Yost. A backup catcher for the Cubs and Dodgers from 1948 to 1958, Rube Walker caught the Thomson playoff game in 1951, then became the Mets pitching coach for 14 seasons and helped guide the young staff of the 1969 champions.
When Gil Hodges became the Mets' manager in 1968, he brought Yost with him from Washington. Shea Stadium was eight miles from Yost's offseason home in South Ozone Park. Second-series 1973 Topps #257 grouped him with Yogi Berra, Roy McMillan, Joe Pignatano and Rube Walker. Nicknamed The Walking Man for the walks he drew, Eddie Yost led the American League in walks six times, drew 1,614 in his career and reached base at a .394 clip.
Sources: Wikipedia (Yogi Berra) · Wikipedia (Roy McMillan) · Wikipedia (Joe Pignatano) · Wikipedia (Rube Walker) · Wikipedia (Eddie Yost) · SABR BioProject (Yogi Berra) · SABR BioProject (Roy Mcmillan) · SABR BioProject (Joe Pignatano) · SABR BioProject (Rube Walker) · SABR BioProject (Eddie Yost) · National Baseball Hall of Fame (1) · National Baseball Hall of Fame (2) · National Baseball Hall of Fame (3) · Baseball Almanac (Yogi Berra) · Baseball Almanac (Roy McMillan) · Baseball Almanac (Joe Pignatano) · Baseball Almanac (Eddie Yost) · BaseballCardPedia
Print variations
Two states of #257 are tracked individually: 257a - Orange Background and 257b - Pale Brown Background. The difference is on the front of the card (print color).
States catalogued by the PSA master set registry and the Trading Card Database; each is tracked here individually.
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Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 257a - Orange Background | |||||||||
| PSA | 581 | 5 | 79 | 252 | 110 | 59 | 38 | 36 | 2 |
| SGC | 87 | 0 | 7 | 18 | 21 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 3 |
| 257b - Pale Brown Background | |||||||||
| PSA | 126 | 0 | 18 | 48 | 24 | 18 | 7 | 11 | 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. Where a grader registers a variation separately its population is listed under that variation; SGC slabs whose label names no variation are counted under 257a - Orange Background.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1973 Topps #257 card?
It is card #257 of the 660-card 1973 Topps Baseball set, picturing Yogi Berra, Roy McMillan, Joe Pignatano, Rube Walker and Eddie Yost. Managers appear only on the 24 Field Leaders cards, one for each club: each pictures the manager with three or four of his coaches, and there is no solo manager card. Fifteen of the 24 come in two printings. Thirteen include a Hall of Famer, among them coaches Ernie Banks (#81 Cubs), Warren Spahn (#449 Indians) and Bill Mazeroski (#517 Pirates), and the Dodgers' Walt Alston and Tom Lasorda (#569).
Does 1973 Topps #257 have variations?
Yes. Two states are catalogued and tracked individually: 257a - Orange Background (The coaches' portraits have orange backgrounds - the more common of the two printings) and 257b - Pale Brown Background (The coaches' portraits have pale brown backgrounds. PSA's price guide lists this printing as "Dark Pale" and values it above the orange one at every grade - the scarcer of the two). Owning any one of them fills the #257 slot; the master set counts each state.
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.