1978 Topps #431 Butch Metzger
About Butch Metzger
Metzger split 1977 between San Diego and the Cardinals, going 4-2 with a 3.59 ERA over 75 appearances, and his 1978 Topps card, #431, shows him with St. Louis. In a three-week span from July 25 he won three games and saved six in ten appearances, and he and Rick Bosetti staged a mock on-field assassination during a rain delay. The Cardinals then placed him on waivers, and the Mets took him on April 5, 1978; he went 1-3 with a 6.51 ERA in 25 games for New York.
Butch Metzger was a right-handed reliever who pitched five major league seasons, 1974 to 1978, for the Giants, Padres, Cardinals and Mets. A second-round pick of San Francisco in 1970 out of Sacramento's John F. Kennedy High School, he led the Triple-A Pacific Coast League in starts, innings and strikeouts at Phoenix in 1974, debuted on September 8 of that year and was traded to San Diego that December with Tito Fuentes for Derrel Thomas. In 1976 the Padres made him their closer: he went 11-4 with a 2.92 ERA and 16 saves. His 77 appearances were a rookie record, and he won his first 12 decisions, tying a record set by Hooks Wiltse. He shared the National League Rookie of the Year Award with Cincinnati's Pat Zachry, the only tie in that award's voting, and was the first Padre to win it. The heavy workload took its toll, and no winner of the award has pitched fewer career innings. He finished 18-9 with a 3.74 ERA over 293 1/3 innings, and later worked as a scout.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 108 | 7 | 52 | 34 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| SGC | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 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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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1978 Topps #431 card?
It is card #431 of the 726-card 1978 Topps Baseball set, picturing Butch Metzger of the St. Louis Cardinals.
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.