1978 Topps #119 Denny Martinez
About Denny Martinez
Card #119 follows 1977, when Martinez worked as a swingman, starting 13 of his 42 games and going 14-7 with a 4.10 ERA. In 1978 he started 38 of 40 games, went 16-11 with a 3.52 ERA, and finished sixth in the American League in innings and ninth in strikeouts.
Dennis Martinez, a right-hander from Granada, Nicaragua, was the first Nicaraguan to reach the major leagues and won 245 games over 23 seasons with Baltimore, Montreal, Cleveland, Seattle and Atlanta. Scout Ray Poitevint signed him for the Orioles in 1973, and he won the International League's pitching Triple Crown at Rochester in 1976 before debuting that September. He spent 1976 through mid-1986 in Baltimore. Alcoholism nearly derailed his career; he entered rehab after a 1983 arrest and rebuilt himself with the Expos. He led the National League with a 2.39 ERA in 1991 and, on July 28 of that year, threw the 13th perfect game in major league history against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was an All-Star in 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1995, and pitched in the 1995 World Series for Cleveland. He finished 245-193 with a 3.70 ERA. Teammate Ken Singleton gave him the name El Presidente in 1979, and Nicaragua renamed its national stadium for him in 1998.
Sources: SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 219 | 47 | 111 | 42 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 0 |
| SGC | 7 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 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: #96 Baltimore Orioles Team
More Baltimore Orioles cards:
- #4 Brooks Robinson
- #9 Doug DeCinces
- #36 Eddie Murray
- #65 Ken Singleton
- #160 Jim Palmer
- #188 Al Bumbry
- #205 1977 Victory Leaders
- #211 Earl Weaver
- #237 Rich Dauer
- #262 Rudy May
- #287 Kiko Garcia
- #315 Mark Belanger
- #341 Mike Flanagan
- #367 Rick Dempsey
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1978 Topps #119 card?
It is card #119 of the 726-card 1978 Topps Baseball set, picturing Denny Martinez of the Baltimore Orioles.
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.