1979 Topps #158 Joe Sambito
About Joe Sambito
Roger Freed's pinch-hit grand slam in the 11th inning on May 1 beat Sambito and the Astros. Sambito then went 27 straight appearances without an earned run, 40 2/3 innings in all, going into the All-Star break. At the All-Star Game he relieved Gaylord Perry in the sixth inning and got Reggie Jackson to ground into a fielder's choice in the National League's 7-6 win. He finished with a 1.77 ERA and a career-high 22 saves. His Topps card is #158, printed with the Astros.
Joe Sambito was a left-handed reliever, a fastball and slider pitcher who threw for the Houston Astros, New York Mets and Boston Red Sox between 1976 and 1987. Born in Brooklyn, he pitched at Adelphi University, where he also played wide receiver, and was an All-American in 1973 before Houston drafted him in the 17th round. He started games in the minors and led the Southern League with 140 strikeouts at Double-A Columbus in 1975, then took to relief in the majors, a role he said he learned to love. He finished fifth in the 1980 Cy Young voting and pitched in the 1980 NLCS against Philadelphia and the 1981 division series against the Dodgers. He opened 1982 with four saves and a 0.71 ERA in nine April appearances, but bone chips were found to have damaged the ligaments of his elbow. Tommy John surgery cost him the rest of that season and all of 1983. In 1986 he went 12 for 12 in save chances for the Red Sox, who reached the World Series. He finished 37-38 with a 3.03 ERA and 84 saves in 461 games, and later worked as a players' agent whose clients included Andy Pettitte and Paul Goldschmidt.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 52 | 2 | 34 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 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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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1979 Topps #158 card?
It is card #158 of the 726-card 1979 Topps Baseball set, picturing Joe Sambito of the Houston Astros.
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.