1974 Topps #344 Mike Caldwell
About Mike Caldwell
The 1974 Topps #344 pictures Caldwell with the Giants, who had acquired him from San Diego in October 1973 in the deal that sent Willie McCovey and Bernie Williams to the Padres. Manager Charlie Fox named him the number-four starter, and he went 14-5 with a 2.95 ERA. He pitched 189 1/3 innings in 31 games, 27 of them starts.
Mike Caldwell was a left-handed sinkerballer who pitched 14 big-league seasons for the Padres, Giants, Reds and Brewers. He came out of Tarboro, North Carolina, and North Carolina State, where he went 32-10 and was named ACC Player of the Year in 1971. San Diego took him in the 12th round of the 1971 draft and he reached the majors that September. After his years with the Giants and a run of trades, he landed in Milwaukee. In 1978 he went 22-9 with a 2.36 ERA and 23 complete games, finished second to Ron Guidry for the Cy Young Award and was named American League Comeback Player of the Year. He reached double figures in wins six straight years for the Brewers and won two games in the 1982 World Series against St. Louis, the first a complete-game shutout. He finished 137-130 with a 3.81 ERA. Daniel Okrent's Nine Innings says his unshaven face and total absence of a smile earned him the nickname Mr. Warmth.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 172 | 0 | 36 | 97 | 28 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 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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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1974 Topps #344 card?
It is card #344 of the 660-card 1974 Topps Baseball set, picturing Mike Caldwell of the San Francisco Giants.
How many cards are in the 1974 Topps Baseball set?
660 cards, tracked as 678 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 660 with none skipped, issued all at once as a single series and printed in equal quantities; 17 cards carry catalogued print variations that the master set counts separately - fourteen San Diego / "Washington Nat'l Lea." pairs (thirteen Padres player cards and the #226 team card), the three-state #599 Rookie Pitchers, the #608 Apodaco misspelling and the #654 Jesus Alou front without a position.
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.