1978 Topps #709 Rookie Pitchers - Steve Burke / Matt Keough / Lance Rautzhan / Dan Schatzeder
On this card: Steve Burke, Matt Keough, Lance Rautzhan, Dan Schatzeder
About this card
Cards #701-711 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 #702, #707, #708 and #711 one of the four is not a rookie, so those count for the other three only, and the rookie-card answer on each card names the players it counts for.
The story on this card
Burke began 1978 in the Seattle bullpen and worked 18 games with a 3.49 ERA and 16 strikeouts before the Mariners sent him down. His rookie card, #709, is a Rookie Prospects card shared with Matt Keough of the Athletics, Lance Rautzhan of the Dodgers and Dan Schatzeder of the Expos, each listed with his own club and each a rookie card. Steve Burke was a right-handed reliever for the Seattle Mariners in 1977 and 1978, drafted by Boston and taken in the 1976 expansion draft. He went 0-2 with a 3.34 ERA in 24 games before finishing in the Mexican League.
Keough made 7 pitching appearances for Oakland in 1977, including 6 starts, and finished 1-3 with a 4.85 ERA. His 1978 Topps rookie card, #709, was shared by Seattle's Steve Burke, Oakland's Keough, the Dodgers' Lance Rautzhan and Montreal's Dan Schatzeder. Matt Keough allowed 1 earned run in 8 1/3 innings against the Yankees in Game 3 of the 1981 ALCS. The right-hander pitched for Oakland from 1977 through 1983.
Rautzhan worked 43 games out of the Dodgers bullpen, went 2-1 with a 2.93 ERA, and saved 4. In October he added 1 1/3 innings in the NLCS against Philadelphia and 2 innings in the World Series loss to the Yankees. His first Topps card, #709, is a four-man Rookie Prospects card: Steve Burke is listed with Seattle, Matt Keough with Oakland, Rautzhan with the Dodgers and Dan Schatzeder with Montreal. All four are rookie cards. Left-handed reliever who pitched 83 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers from 1977 to 1979, finishing 6-4 with a 3.90 ERA and 7 saves, and worked in the 1977 and 1978 World Series against the Yankees.
Schatzeder reached Montreal in September 1977 and went 2-1 with a 2.49 ERA in 6 pitching appearances. His 1978 Topps rookie card, #709, belonged to the Rookie Prospects subset and paired him with Seattle's Steve Burke, Oakland's Matt Keough and the Dodgers' Lance Rautzhan. Schatzeder represented the Expos. Montreal left-hander Dan Schatzeder worked as both a starter and reliever during 15 major league seasons. He won Game 6 of the 1987 World Series for Minnesota and batted .240 over his career.
Sources: Wikipedia (Steve Burke) · Wikipedia (Matt Keough) · Wikipedia (Lance Rautzhan) · Wikipedia (Dan Schatzeder) · MLB.com · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 195 | 51 | 84 | 37 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| SGC | 9 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 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 cards: #499 Seattle Mariners Team, #577 Oakland Athletics Team, #259 Los Angeles Dodgers Team, #244 Montreal Expos Team
More Seattle Mariners cards:
- #31 Glenn Abbott
- #57 Dan Meyer
- #79 Darrell Johnson
- #117 John Montague
- #141 Ruppert Jones
- #166 Carlos Lopez
More Oakland Athletics cards:
More Los Angeles Dodgers cards:
More Montreal Expos cards:
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1978 Topps #709 card?
It is card #709 of the 726-card 1978 Topps Baseball set, picturing Steve Burke, Matt Keough, Lance Rautzhan and Dan Schatzeder. Cards #701-711 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 #702, #707, #708 and #711 one of the four is not a rookie, so those count for the other three only, and the rookie-card answer on each card names the players it counts for.
Is 1978 Topps #709 a rookie card?
Yes - #709 is a rookie card for every player pictured on it: Steve Burke, Matt Keough, Lance Rautzhan and Dan Schatzeder.
How many cards are in the 1978 Topps Baseball set?
726 cards, numbered 1 through 726 with none skipped and issued as a single series, and 728 collectible states: #23 Bump Wills comes with or without a black circle, and #374 Jose Morales with or without black stitching over the red laces, so the master set counts both states of each.
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.