1978 Topps #588 Jim Mason
About Jim Mason
Back in Texas, Mason spent 1978 as a backup to Bert Campaneris, appearing in 55 games, mostly at shortstop and third base, and hitting .190. The Rangers had given him a four-year contract at the end of 1977. Card #588 pictures him with the Rangers.
Jim Mason was a left-handed-hitting shortstop who played nine seasons, 1971 to 1979, for the Washington Senators and Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays and Montreal Expos. A Mobile, Alabama, native, he was a second-round pick of the Senators in 1968, and manager Ted Williams called him a can't-miss prospect after a strong 1969 spring. Texas sold him to the Yankees for $100,000 in December 1973, and in 1974 he played 152 games at short and hit .250. On July 8 of that year he hit four doubles against his former club, tying a major-league record. The Yankees reached the 1976 World Series, where Mason homered off Pat Zachry in his only plate appearance, the 500th home run in World Series history. Toronto took him in the 1976 expansion draft, and he was traded back to Texas in 1977. He finished with a .203 average, 12 home runs and 114 RBI in 634 games.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 108 | 22 | 55 | 23 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| SGC | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 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 card: #659 Texas Rangers Team
More Texas Rangers cards:
- #23 Bump Wills
- #44 Toby Harrah
- #67 Claudell Washington
- #92 Adrian Devine
- #110 Richie Zisk
- #131 Bert Blyleven
- #146 Doyle Alexander
- #172 Mike Hargrove
- #209 Dock Ellis
- #238 Juan Beniquez
- #260 Bert Campaneris
- #290 Willie Horton
- #314 Paul Lindblad
- #337 Tom Grieve
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1978 Topps #588 card?
It is card #588 of the 726-card 1978 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jim Mason of the Texas Rangers.
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.