1978 Topps #393 Tippy Martinez
About Tippy Martinez
Tendonitis he kept to himself hurt Martinez's first half in 1978. He gave up a walk-off homer in New York on April 18 and was ejected five days later, and his ERA at the break was 6.14. A cortisone shot helped, though Earl Weaver left him idle for 26 days in September. He ended 3-3 with a 4.83 ERA and five saves. Card #393 shows him as an Oriole.
Tippy Martinez was a left-handed reliever who leaned on a sharp curveball and a pickoff move across 14 seasons, 1974 to 1988, most of them with the Baltimore Orioles. After a Colorado State season with a school-record 1.25 ERA, he signed with the Yankees and reached New York in 1974. The Orioles got him on June 15, 1976, in a ten-player trade that also brought Rick Dempsey, Scott McGregor, Rudy May and Dave Pagan. He stayed through 1986, set an Orioles record with 76 appearances in 1982, and was an All-Star in 1983, the year Baltimore beat Philadelphia in the World Series. On August 24, 1983, he picked off three Toronto runners at first base in a single inning at Memorial Stadium. Fans in the left-field bullpen area formed a fan club, Tippy's Tweeters, in 1980. He finished 55-42 with a 3.45 ERA and 115 saves, ended his career with Minnesota in 1988, and later coached pitchers for the York Revolution of the Atlantic League.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 137 | 17 | 73 | 38 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 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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Related cards
Team card: #96 Baltimore Orioles Team
More Baltimore Orioles cards:
- #4 Brooks Robinson
- #9 Doug DeCinces
- #36 Eddie Murray
- #65 Ken Singleton
- #119 Denny Martinez
- #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
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1978 Topps #393 card?
It is card #393 of the 726-card 1978 Topps Baseball set, picturing Tippy 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.