1978 Topps #257 Hector Cruz
About Hector Cruz
The Cardinals are on Cruz's #257 card, but he spent 1978 elsewhere. The Cubs acquired him, and on June 15 they sent him to San Francisco for Lynn McGlothen. Across the two clubs he hit .227 with 8 home runs and 33 RBIs in 109 games, mostly in the outfield.
Hector Cruz was a right-handed third baseman and outfielder from Arroyo, Puerto Rico, who played nine major league seasons between 1973 and 1982 with the Cardinals, Cubs, Giants and Reds. He came from a baseball family: his older brothers Jose and Tommy Cruz both reached the majors, and his nephew Jose Cruz Jr. followed. He worked through the Cardinals' minor league system from 1970. In 1975 he hit 29 home runs with 116 RBIs for the Tulsa Oilers and was named The Sporting News Minor League Player of the Year. In 1976, his first regular season in St. Louis, he led National League rookies in home runs and RBIs. He then moved to the outfield and finished with a .225 average, 39 home runs and 200 RBIs in 624 games. He played in Japan for the Yomiuri Giants in 1983, later worked as a mail carrier on Chicago's West Side, and was inducted into the Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007.
Sources: Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 125 | 23 | 73 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| SGC | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 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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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1978 Topps #257 card?
It is card #257 of the 726-card 1978 Topps Baseball set, picturing Hector Cruz 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.