1979 Topps #334 Craig Swan
About Craig Swan
With Koosman traded after 1978, Swan became the Mets' top starter in 1979, setting career highs of 251 1/3 innings and 10 complete games for a club that went 63-99. He recalled winning 14 games while no one else on the team won more than six. In December the Mets nearly traded him to the Angels, but Joe Torre persuaded the owner to wait until February, and the deal never happened. Card #7 is a League Leaders card shared with Ron Guidry of the Yankees, and his own Mets card is #334.
Craig Swan was a right-handed starter who spent twelve seasons with the New York Mets, 1973 to 1984, finishing with two outings for the California Angels. He threw a 90-95 mph fastball with good movement and an occasional slider, and he pitched through some of the worst Mets teams on record. At 14 he threw out the first pitch before Game 5 of the 1965 World Series at Dodger Stadium. At Arizona State he allowed one run in 18 innings of the 1972 College World Series, a 0.50 ERA that tied the tournament record, and the Mets took him in the third round that June. He led the National League in ERA in 1978. After signing a five-year, $3.125 million contract, he was the highest-paid pitcher in club history at the time, then tore his rotator cuff and became the first player to come back successfully from that injury. He finished with a 59-72 record and a 3.74 ERA, then trained at the Rolf Institute and opened a practice in Connecticut.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 70 | 1 | 22 | 32 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 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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Related cards
More Craig Swan in this set: #7 League Leaders
Team card: #82 New York Mets / Joe Torre
More New York Mets cards:
- #7 1978 ERA Leaders
- #21 Kevin Kobel
- #46 Ron Hodges
- #69 Elliott Maddox
- #109 Joel Youngblood
- #148 Bruce Boisclair
- #172 Mike Bruhert
- #197 Bob Apodaca
- #205 John Stearns
- #229 Doug Flynn
- #277 Tom Grieve
- #305 Willie Montanez
- #355 Lee Mazzilli
- #379 Dale Murray
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1979 Topps #334 card?
It is card #334 of the 726-card 1979 Topps Baseball set, picturing Craig Swan of the New York Mets.
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.