1979 Topps #308 Bert Blyleven
About Bert Blyleven
The Pirates card, #308, covers his first season in Pittsburgh. Blyleven went 14-10 with a 3.03 ERA and 182 strikeouts in 1978, leading the club in ERA, strikeouts and complete games. In 1979 he went 12-5 and won one game in the NLCS sweep of Cincinnati and another in the seven-game World Series victory over Baltimore.
Bert Blyleven was a right-handed starter whose curveball carried him to 287 wins, 3,701 strikeouts and a 3.31 ERA over 22 seasons, pitching for the Twins, Rangers, Pirates, Indians and Angels. Born Rik Aalbert Blijleven in Zeist, Netherlands, he became the first Netherlands-born player inducted into the Hall of Fame, elected in 2011 on his 14th ballot with 79.7 percent of the vote. He debuted with Minnesota at 19 in 1970. He won World Series rings with Pittsburgh in 1979 and Minnesota in 1987, went 19-7 for Cleveland in 1984, and in 1985 completed 24 games over 293 2/3 innings. He became the tenth member of the 3,000-strikeout club in 1986, and his 60 career shutouts rank ninth all-time. His first two full seasons back in Minnesota, 1986 and 1987, produced major-league records of 50 home runs allowed in a season and 96 over two seasons. A dugout prankster who set teammates' shoelaces on fire, he was known as the Frying Dutchman. After retiring he called Twins television games from 1996 to 2020, and the club retired his number on July 16, 2011.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 314 | 4 | 76 | 118 | 43 | 39 | 18 | 16 | 0 |
| SGC | 21 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 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: #244 Pittsburgh Pirates / Chuck Tanner
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- #1 1978 Batting Leaders
- #4 1978 Stolen Base Leaders
- #28 Steve Brye
- #55 Willie Stargell
- #70 John Candelaria
- #92 Jim Bibby
- #117 Grant Jackson
- #147 Dave Hamilton
- #165 Frank Taveras
- #189 Eddie Whitson
- #208 Clarence Gaston
- #223 Kent Tekulve
- #264 Don Robinson
- #286 Duffy Dyer
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1979 Topps #308 card?
It is card #308 of the 726-card 1979 Topps Baseball set, picturing Bert Blyleven of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
How many cards are in the 1979 Topps Baseball set?
726 cards, numbered 1 through 726 with none skipped and issued as a single series, tracked as 727 collectible states: #369 Bump Wills comes with a Rangers or a Blue Jays team banner, and the master set counts both.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA, 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.