1976 Topps #589 Rookie Pitchers - Santo Alcala / Mike Flanagan / Joe Pactwa / Pablo Torrealba
On this card: Santo Alcala, Mike Flanagan, Joe Pactwa, Pablo Torrealba
About this card
Cards #589-599 are the eleven four-player Rookie Prospects cards. A Rookie Prospects card is a rookie card for the players on it who had no earlier Topps flagship card - on #590, #593, #597 and #598 one of the four had already appeared on one, and the rookie-card answer on each card names the players it counts for.
The story on this card
Alcala reached the majors on April 10, 1976. In his first start, May 8 at Wrigley Field, he walked three in the first inning, all of whom scored, and still earned the first win of his career in a 14-4 victory. He finished 11-4 with a 4.70 ERA in 30 games, 21 of them starts. Card #589 is the four-player Rookie Prospects card, his rookie card, shared with Mike Flanagan, Joe Pactwa and Pablo Torrealba; Alcala is printed with Cincinnati. It is counted among the key rookie cards of the set. Santo Alcala, a 6-foot-5 right-hander from San Pedro de Macoris, went 11-4 for the 1976 Cincinnati Reds as a rookie and was traded to Montreal in May 1977. He finished 14-11 with a 4.76 ERA in 68 big-league games.
Flanagan's rookie card, #589, is a four-man Rookie Prospects card: he appears with the Orioles beside Santo Alcala of the Reds, Joe Pactwa of the Angels and Pablo Torrealba of the Braves, and all four are rookie cards. He split 1976 between Baltimore and Rochester. He began 0-3 with the Orioles, went down July 2, went 6-1 for the Red Wings, and returned August 11. His first major-league win came September 1, a 7-1 complete game over Kansas City, and he ended 3-5 with a 4.13 ERA. Left-handed pitcher who won the 1979 American League Cy Young Award with 23 victories for the Baltimore Orioles. He pitched in the majors from 1975 to 1992, finishing 167-143 with a 3.90 ERA, and later served the Orioles as coach, broadcaster and executive.
Pactwa appears with the Angels on #589, a four-man Rookie Prospects card shared with Santo Alcala of the Reds, Mike Flanagan of the Orioles and Pablo Torrealba of the Braves. His 1975 stay with the Angels came to 16 1/3 innings with a 3.86 ERA. He reached California after a Mexican summer league season in which he won Most Valuable Player honors as both pitcher and outfielder. Joe Pactwa, a left-hander signed by the Yankees as an outfielder in 1966, worked as both pitcher and slugger in the minors and Mexico, and appeared in four games for the 1975 California Angels.
Torrealba worked 36 games for Atlanta in 1976, all in relief, and went 0-2 with a 3.57 ERA. Topps put him on Rookie Prospects card #589, sharing it with Santo Alcala of the Reds, Mike Flanagan of the Orioles and Joe Pactwa of the Angels. It is the rookie card for all four men, and Torrealba is shown with the Braves. Left-handed Venezuelan pitcher from Barquisimeto who worked 1975 to 1979 for the Braves, Athletics and White Sox. He went 6-13 with a 3.27 ERA and five saves.
Sources: Wikipedia (Mike Flanagan) · Wikipedia (Joe Pactwa) · Wikipedia (Pablo Torrealba) · SABR BioProject (Santo Alcala) · SABR BioProject (Mike Flanagan) · SABR BioProject (Joe Pactwa) · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 263 | 28 | 87 | 92 | 33 | 10 | 9 | 4 | 0 |
| SGC | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 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 cards: #104 Cincinnati Reds Team, #73 Baltimore Orioles Team, #304 California Angels Team, #631 Atlanta Braves Team
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More Atlanta Braves cards:
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1976 Topps #589 card?
It is card #589 of the 660-card 1976 Topps Baseball set, picturing Santo Alcala, Mike Flanagan, Joe Pactwa and Pablo Torrealba. Cards #589-599 are the eleven four-player Rookie Prospects cards. A Rookie Prospects card is a rookie card for the players on it who had no earlier Topps flagship card - on #590, #593, #597 and #598 one of the four had already appeared on one, and the rookie-card answer on each card names the players it counts for.
Is 1976 Topps #589 a rookie card?
Yes - #589 is a rookie card for every player pictured on it: Santo Alcala, Mike Flanagan, Joe Pactwa and Pablo Torrealba.
How many cards are in the 1976 Topps Baseball set?
660 cards, numbered 1 through 660 with none skipped and printed in equal quantities as a single series. No card carries a catalogued print variation, so the base set and the master set are the same 660 cards.
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.