1977 Topps #238 Tippy Martinez
About Tippy Martinez
In his first full year as an Oriole, Martinez went 5-1 with a 2.70 ERA in 41 games and again led the club with nine saves. The first came June 3 in Kansas City, when he protected a two-run lead with the bases loaded and nobody out and ended the game on a triple play. Card #238 lists him with the Baltimore Orioles.
Tippy Martinez was a left-handed reliever who leaned on a sharp curveball and a pickoff move across 14 seasons, 1974 to 1988, most of them with the Baltimore Orioles. After a Colorado State season with a school-record 1.25 ERA, he signed with the Yankees and reached New York in 1974. The Orioles got him on June 15, 1976, in a ten-player trade that also brought Rick Dempsey, Scott McGregor, Rudy May and Dave Pagan. He stayed through 1986, set an Orioles record with 76 appearances in 1982, and was an All-Star in 1983, the year Baltimore beat Philadelphia in the World Series. On August 24, 1983, he picked off three Toronto runners at first base in a single inning at Memorial Stadium. Fans in the left-field bullpen area formed a fan club, Tippy's Tweeters, in 1980. He finished 55-42 with a 3.45 ERA and 115 saves, ended his career with Minnesota in 1988, and later coached pitchers for the York Revolution of the Atlantic League.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 134 | 12 | 73 | 43 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 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: #546 Baltimore Orioles Team
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- #5 1976 Victory Leaders
- #56 Rudy May
- #77 Dyar Miller
- #106 Mike Flanagan
- #135 Mark Belanger
- #162 Mike Cuellar
- #189 Rick Dempsey
- #216 Doug DeCinces
- #251 Tony Muser
- #285 Brooks Robinson
- #313 Paul Blair
- #380 Lee May
- #414 Tommy Harper
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1977 Topps #238 card?
It is card #238 of the 660-card 1977 Topps Baseball set, picturing Tippy Martinez of the Baltimore Orioles.
How many cards are in the 1977 Topps Baseball set?
660 cards, numbered 1 through 660 with none skipped and distributed 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.