1978 Topps #40 Carl Yastrzemski
About Carl Yastrzemski
Boston's 1978 Topps #40 carried an All-Star designation for Yastrzemski after a 1977 season of 28 home runs, 102 RBI and a .296 average. He also scored 99 runs. In the 1978 American League East tiebreaker, he opened the scoring with a home run off Ron Guidry.
Carl Yastrzemski was born August 22, 1939, in Southampton, New York, and grew up on his father's Long Island potato farm before signing with the Boston Red Sox in 1958 after his freshman year at Notre Dame. He spent his entire 23-year career (1961-1983) with that one club, taking over left field from the retiring Ted Williams as a 21-year-old rookie and shifting later to first base and designated hitter. Nicknamed Yaz, he won three American League batting titles (1963, 1967, 1968), seven Gold Gloves and eighteen All-Star selections. His signature season came in 1967, when he took the Triple Crown by leading the league in average, home runs and runs batted in. He was voted American League Most Valuable Player, one vote short of unanimous, as the Impossible Dream Red Sox won their first pennant since 1946. He finished with 3,419 hits and 452 home runs, the first American League player to reach both 3,000 hits and 400 homers, and he is still the Red Sox all-time leader in games, hits, runs, runs batted in, doubles and total bases. Yastrzemski was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989, his first year of eligibility, with 94.6 percent of the vote. His grandson Mike Yastrzemski later reached the majors as an outfielder.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 1,846 | 20 | 308 | 751 | 325 | 188 | 130 | 124 | 0 |
| SGC | 216 | 0 | 13 | 68 | 57 | 38 | 23 | 17 | 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: #424 Boston Red Sox Team
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- #105 Reggie Cleveland
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- #202 1977 Home Run Leaders
- #208 1977 Leading Firemen
- #216 Mike Paxton
- #245 Rick Burleson
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1978 Topps #40 card?
It is card #40 of the 726-card 1978 Topps Baseball set, picturing Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox.
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.